


You've Got a Friend in Me

by AnimeFaeMoon



Category: Ai no Kusabi
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 23:21:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 47,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17907644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimeFaeMoon/pseuds/AnimeFaeMoon
Summary: Raoul and Katze develop a friendship after Riki returns to Iason. (Prior to Dana Bahn.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Baaaaaaaccckkk! Not full time though, so don't expect weekly updates as I am also working own my boys-love novel. :-) This was a request by DM. I don't know how far this will go, but I had a moment of inspiration after receiving the request, so here it is. There will only be minor appearances of the other characters, as the story will focus on Raoul and Katze. Hope you enjoy.  
> \---------------------------------------------

Raoul entered the exclusive club and moved through the red and gold curtains into the main area. Three scantily clad pets gyrated on stage while the deep public booths held several Elites of various designations. Emeralds, Rubies, Sapphires, and of course Blondies. Onyx did not attend pet parties, nor did they keep pets. They dealt with the mechanics of running the individual sections of Amoï and were the direct liaison with any Humanoids that worked in the different fields.

All of the Elites greeted him with a courteous nod, but none of them invited him to sit. Unlike when he was accompanied by Iason, then all welcomed and invited them. Iason, however, was too busy playing with his new pet to be social these days and so Raoul was on his own. On his own Raoul was not as welcomed, even by his Brothers, the other Blondies.

He received the standard social invitations that went out to all Elites, of course, but it was rare for him to be invited to a private party, or to a club unless it could be assured that Iason would also attend. No one wanted to offend Iason, so he received invitations constantly; most of which he ignored.

Raoul moved past the stage and the ground level tables, then climbed the few steps to the upper ring of seats. Finding an empty booth, he settled down and programmed his drink request into the table menu. A moment later a droid appeared with his selection.

Normally he wouldn’t bother coming to a club, he had more than enough to keep him busy back in his lab, but he’d found himself increasingly annoyed with his recent experiments for not delivering the results he expected. He’d tried to amuse himself with his pet but that too just annoyed him, so he decided to get away from all of it for a short while.

The pets on stage did nothing to arouse him or lighten his mood, nor did the indiscreet looks towards him, followed by laughter, that came from the other booths. Raoul ignored them and sipped his drink, silently cursing Iason and that damned mongrel pet.

Iason was his only true brother, and his one real friend. Iason did not treat him with subtle derision because of his experiments. The Elites were all too willing to buy his genetically enhanced pets, but they did not approve or understand his other work. Iason understood, or at least accepted Raoul’s curious nature without condemning him for it.

Was he lonely, he wondered? His work simulated his mind, his pets fulfilled his desires, most of time.  He did not require others approval, nor did he desire constant company. But conversation? Yes, perhaps what he was missing was an enjoyable and stimulating conversation. He and Iason had many of those, before Riki. Damn that mongrel for ever entering their lives.

“Dear, dear,” a Ruby named Roche Lim commented as he glanced towards the table where Raoul Am sat alone. “The standards of this club _has_ gone down hill. They’ll let anyone in it seems.”

His companion, a tall Elite with deep green hair smiled, slyly. “Perhaps he is looking for his next victim?”

“In here?” Roche sniffed. “What could he possibly plan to splice together this time? A pet and a Blondie?”

“What an abomination that would be!”

“Am is the real abomination. His work is unnatural and obscene. I don’t understand why Jupiter doesn’t do us all a favor and reconstitute him.”

“He is close to Iason. Jupiter will not touch him while Iason stands for him.”

“My lords.”

They turned to the second red-head at the table, though this young man’s hair colour was entirely natural.

“Ah yes, Katze. Where were we?”

“Just ironing out the details. I can deliver your product by the end of next week for the agreed amount.”

Roche smiled. “Good, I will expect the five skids then.”

“Four, Lord Lim. The agreement is for four.”

“What is one more skid? I will compensate you.”

Katze shook his head, damn Elites, always trying to get their way. The Black Market dealt in all manner of legal and illegal goods, but there were still import and export rules that had to be considered. If Katze circumvented those rules too often, it brought unwanted attention from the other underground trade collations.

“I am sorry, Lord Lim. Four is the number we agreed on, and what I can deliver.” He held out the data pad that held the details of their contract. “You can pay the amount agreed on delivery. If you wish to cancel this transaction, please do so now so I can find another buyer for the product.”

“I only ask for one more skid. I don’t see why you cannot accommodate me in this.”

“Deal or no deal?”

“There are others that can get me five!”

“And you are more than welcome to make a deal with them, my Lord.” Katze stared at the Ruby and tapped the pad.

Roache waved his hand, dismissively to hide his frustration. He had no doubt the damn Human would indeed sell his product to another.  “Of course, as you say. We have an agreement.” He entered his personal signature code into the data pad, sealing the deal. “You are a hard negotiator, Katze.”

Katze slid the pad into his jacket pocket. “I was trained by the best, Lord Lim. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” He rose and started off and caught the tail end of their comments.

“I know he is Furniture, but I would not mind having him in my pet room,” the Emerald murmured to Roache.

“I do not think he would be a very endearing distraction.” Roache smiled. “You might find yourself the one in chains.”

Raoul took another sip of his drink, realized his glass was empty and debated whether it was worth ordering another, just as a figure walked by his table. “Katze?”

Katze paused at Raoul’s table as the cruel words of the other Elites echoed in his mind. He had learned long ago not to get involved in either the politics or the differed grievances of Elites, but he had known Raoul on a more personal level, because of his relationship with Iason.

“Good evening, Lord Am.”

“Raoul, please.” Raoul waved his hand at the booth, accepting Katze’s habit of addressing him formally in public. They had known each other for almost two decades, so such titles between them were really unnecessary. “Will you sit?”

Katze noticed the sudden interest from several of the other Elites seated on their level, even as he glanced at his watch. He decided he had time to visit, more so because he felt a touch of sympathy for the ostracized Blondie then any worry about his next meeting.

He settled on the curved leather seat. “I can for a moment.”

“I was just going to order another drink,” Raoul stated as he tapped the table to bring up the menu again. “What would you like?”

“Whatever you’re having is fine.”

He expected no other answer. Katze’s Furniture training was still in place, despite being the top black-market dealer in the system. He ordered two more drinks.  “Are you here for business or pleasure?”

Katze glanced towards the stage as one of the pets fucked the other and the girl’s moans and cries got louder. “This kind of entertainment isn’t to my taste.”

“No, I don’t imagine it would be.” All Furniture were Eunuchs after all and so they couldn’t feel sexual desire or perform it. “So, you are here for business then?”

Katze allowed Raoul a small smile as their drinks arrived, as well as a small frosted cake. “We didn’t order this.”

“It is from Table 9, Sir,” the droid replied offering a small fork and knife. “To sweeten the pot.”

Katze nodded turned slightly in his seat and lifted his hand to the Ruby he had just closed a deal with. The Elite toasted him with his drink, smiled, and Katze straightened in his chair.

“More business?” Raoul inquired as he sipped at his new drink.

“More or less.” Katze divided the cake in half with the knife then slid his fork into the first half and took a bite. He nodded in approval. “Good.” He pushed the plate towards Raoul. “Try it.” Then, as if suddenly realizing who he was talking to, he said. “I’ll get another fork.”

Even though Blondies could be slightly germaphobic when it came to sharing things, Raoul suppressed that nature and took Katze’s fork. “This will be fine, thank you.” He was pleased that Katze had even offered to share.  He took a bite from the second half of the cake. “It is very sweet.”

“I like sweets.” Katze hid his surprise as Raoul returned the fork to him, and carved out another piece of cake from his half.

Raoul sat back and realized this was probably only the second time he had ever even seen Katze eat. As Furniture the young man ate separately from his master or guests and in his current position Raoul usually only saw Katze while the red-head was on business for Iason.

“Any kind of sweets or specific types?”

“Above average sweets. Not the standard market candy or pre-made cakes, but this kind of homemade concoction, made with good ingredients.”

“I see.” Raoul let Katze have two more bites, then calmly plucked the fork away again for his second bite. He was not a sweet lover, but he was enjoying sharing the cake between them. “And will it?”

“Will it what?”

“Sweeten the pot?”

Katze smirked as Raoul handed the fork back to him. “No, but I never turn down a bribe.”

“Doesn’t eating the cake entail a new agreement on the deal?”

“Nope.” Katze took a sip of his drink, set the glass back down. “No words were exchanged, no hand shake or contract, so no deal.” He cut off a bigger slice of the cake, swallowed it down and licked his lips.

“That’s very dishonest of you,” Raoul mused, delighted.

“Whoever heard of an honest black-market dealer?”

Raoul couldn’t fault Katze’s logic.  “I prefer savory food,” he said, returning to their original subject and realized that he had never discussed his tastes with anyone, not even Iason. “Or good spices.”

“Have you ever had Rubulon?”

“I do not believe so, what is it?”

“It’s a kind of bread that has different spices baked into it. You can get mild or spicy versions. Some might consider it savory as well.”

“That sounds interesting. I will ask Peter to order some.”

“He can’t.” Katze finished off the rest of his half of the cake, and set the utensil on the plate, pointed the handle in Raoul’s direction. “It’s an off-planet item. I could get it for you.”

Raoul’s eyes narrowed in amusement. The man was always working a deal. “At what cost?”

Katze dealt in the black market, and he had a reputation for not giving or getting anything for free. He got away with that because there was nothing, as yet, that he couldn’t find and deliver on. Iason had more money than any Blondie could ever need, and that amount had tippled since Katze went to work in the business, but Raoul knew that the red-head would occasionally barter or trade for a product if it was worth it.

“First ones free, a trial. If you want more, I could do it for say, two canisters of Hydrpholium Moxicede?”

Raoul blinked, that particular chemical was highly regulated and banned on Amoï. It was also used to completely dissolve animal and body parts. Even the best of the underground dealers couldn’t get their hands on it.  “What would you need something like that for?”

Katze sat back sipped his drink and slid his arm over the back of the booth, pushed back the need for a cigarette. “Not me, a customer.”

“Do you understand what that particular chemical does, Katze?”

“Yes.”

“Why does your buyer need it?”

“Not my business. My business is to deliver it.”

“Is your buyer here on Amoï?”

“I can’t discuss my clients, Raoul.”

“Not even if I ordered you to?”

“Not even then.” Katze had received immunity from such orders from Iason. He still had to be polite and accommodating to the Elites, but when it came to business, no one but Iason could order him to reveal such details.

Intrigued, Raoul picked up the fork, took another bite of cake. “What makes you think I have any?”

Katze simply held Raoul’s gaze until Raoul smiled, few people could win a staring contest with a Blondie, few would dare to even meet a Blondie’s eyes so directly.

“Very well, I can get you the two canisters, but I think such a dangerous, and highly illegal product should be worth more than some spiced bread.”

“What did you have in mind?”

Raoul rarely used Katze’s services. He had his own off planet connections because he preferred to keep most of his experiments secret. Which of course made the rumors about him worse, but his work was important and he would not compromise.

“Have you ever heard of a Chupacabra?”

Katze’s curiosity was peaked but his expression remained bland. “Old Earth monster myth from the Latin Americas. Supposedly the thing looks like a dog or a coyote with glowing eyes and a breast plate of bones. It sucks the blood out of farm animals and can turn invisible when cornered.

Raoul smiled, impressed. “You do surprise me sometimes, Katze.”

“I read. There are no animals left on Old Earth, Raoul. Even the few Humans that chose to remain after the Great Exodus resorted to cannibalism because of all animals and fish had died out and new ones couldn’t survive in the toxic environment.”

Raoul leaned closer. “There have been sightings of a Chupacabra on Tarus Omega.”

“Sightings of a mythical Earth dog?”

“I have looked into it, and there seems to be some validity to the stories. Several Humans settled on Tarus Omega, and began to clone and raise animals there for food. Recently, there has been an outbreak of death among their cattle. Cows, goats, even the two headed sheep have been found dead, with no sign of injuries, but the carcass was completely devoid of blood.”

“You want me to go to Tarus Omega and hunt down an invisible blood sucking dog that may or may not exist?”

Raoul sat back and took on a bored expression. “Well, if you believe it beyond your capabilities…”

“I didn’t say that!” Katze snapped before he could help himself, it was rare his abilities to secure a product were questioned. He calmed himself, knowing full well when he was being baited. “There’d be added expenses. I’d have to hire trackers, someone who can capture it alive. I assume you want it alive?”

“Preferably yes. I will pay you twenty-five for one week of expenses.”

“You expect this thing to be found in a week, when people haven’t been able to find it for centuries?”

“If it can be found, you will find it within that time frame. I have total confidence.”

“Fifty for the expenses.”

“Thirty-five and not a credit more.” Raoul wagged a gloved finger at Katze. “One of those canisters is worth five times that, and far more difficult to come by than a blood-sucking invisible dog, surely? For the capture of this beast and that amount in expenses, you will get two canisters. It is a just agreement.”

Katze ran his tongue around the inside of his teeth as he calculated the profit and loss margins in his head. “I’ll do it for twenty-five in expenses and three canisters,” he returned. “Plus, a six-month supply of the bread and a case of Pinot ’37.”

Raoul considered, Katze did know him well. The Pinot was a favorite of his and very expensive. Katze would still make a huge profit on the canisters, but if the man could actually find that animal, he could start an experiment that had been on his mind for several decades.

“Agreed.”

Katze grinned, a quick and easy smile that Raoul rarely witnessed as he pulled out his data pad and entered the details for a new contract between them. Within moments he had it ready for Raoul’s signature.

“You look very pleased with yourself,” Raoul decided as he added his code.

“It will be interesting to see if I can pull it off,” Katze admitted and made Raoul laugh.

Wanting to somehow tease Katze, he sliced off a generous portion of cake with the fork and then lifted it to the red-head’s mouth. “Finish your cake, Katze.”

It was there, just a flicker of surprise or unease, but then it was gone and Katze’s usual calm expression resumed.  Well aware that several Elites had turned to watch, no doubt picking up on Raoul’s request and gesture with their exceptional senses, Katze still leaned forward and wrapped his lips around the fork, all the while keeping his gaze locked with Raoul’s.

“Thank you kindly, Lord Am,” Katze practically purred, as he knocked back the rest of his drink and rose. “I have a meeting. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Raoul watched the tall man walk away, confidence and a hint of danger in his swagger, then he stared at the empty fork in his hand; realized he was aroused. “Well now. That’s interesting.”

 


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iason had no time for Katze or Raoul, so shall they play together?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started out as a small chapter and then EXPLODED. It does that sometimes, so I decided to keep it all in rather than break it up. I don't know how Cannon it is, but I am doing my best. Enjoy, and please comment if you like it, don't like it, wanna burn it, sleep with it, y'know, whatever. :-)  
> \------------------------------------------

 

“You solidified a deal with the Raxons.” Iason commented as he looked over the details on Katze’s data pad while he sat in the chair of his home office.

“Yes. We will be receiving shipments of Miaxcacillin every two weeks starting next week,” Katze replied from his standing position by the desk.

“Good. Very good. They refused to sign with anyone else in this sector.” Iason glanced up at Katze. “How did you do it?”

Katze smothered the immense feeling of pride that swelled inside of him. “With my usual charm and wit.”

Iason smiled, nodded and handed the pad back to Katze. “I have the utmost confidence in those myself.”

Katze grinned, even as his hands started to sweat a little. Approval from Iason was the only thing he truly found pleasure in, the one thing he worked so hard for. “Actually, they agreed to give them to us at cost because the trade leader was having a minor pest problem.”

“I see. And you offered to rid him of said pest?”

“Not personally, but I assured them that I would employ the services of a confident and discrete source to deal with it.”

“What will that cost me?”

“Nothing. The contractor owes me a few favours.”

“So, only minor out of pocket expenses, nothing we have to acquire for future trade, and the opportunity for a high mark up on sale of the product.” Iason rose, clapped his hand on Katze’s shoulder. “I am very pleased with this, Katze. Very pleased. You deserve a reward. What would you like? Ask me for anything.”

All Katze ever wanted was to see that beautiful smile directed at him and the right to secretly allow his heart to beat a little bit faster and his hands to secrete just the smallest amount of sweat as he basked in Iason’s praise. He opened his mouth just as a loud crash sounded from the outer apartment area.

When they walked out they saw Riki standing next to a smashed lamp on the living room floor.

“What is this?”

“I won’t wear it, Iason!” Riki growled, furious. “I’m not wearing the fucking chains and leash anymore. I refuse!”

Cal, holding said chains and leash hurried to Iason and away from the raging pet. “He wanted to go out for cigarettes, Sir. I brought these in and he got so upset. He knows he has to wear them, Sir, but...”

“Yes, he knows,” Iason stalked towards Riki. “You will wear them, Riki. We have discussed this.” He narrowed his eyes when Riki picked up a priceless piece of sculpture. “Do. Not...” He began and watched Riki smash that into the floor.

“Fuck you, Iason! I’m not a goddamn dog!”

“You made your choice!”

“I never chose to be shackled like a fucking animal and I won’t!”

Riki grabbed a painting off the wall, but Iason had sprinted forward, gripped him around the waist with one hand while he set the priceless painting aside with the other. He tossed Riki tossed him over his shoulder.

“Katze, wait here, we still have business. Cal, bring me the paddle.”

Katze shrugged off the irritation he felt at having Riki’s temper interrupt his time with Iason. It seemed to be a constant theme lately, to the point that most of their meetings had been left to texts or quick communiqués over the coms.

“Yes, Sir.” Call hurried off to obey his master.

Katze, in an attempt to stem his frustration stepped out to the balcony to light a cigarette

Once Cal delivered the instrument to Iason, he returned to the living room, and wandered outside to stand with Katze. “Why must he upset the Master so?”

Katze inhaled deeply then blew it out as he viewed the glittering buildings of Eos and kept his expression neutral against the Riki’s cries as the mongrel was punished. “Because he’s an idiot.”

As annoying as the mongrel was, Katze could still sympathize with Riki. He wasn’t so cold that he couldn’t feel pity for another, but that pity never gotten in the way of doing what had to be done. Riki was a mongrel who, unlike most of his kind, had a good head on his shoulders and a talent for computers and electronics. He’d been raised in the slums, but he hadn’t let that define who he was. He hadn’t become greedy or cruel in his climb to the top as the leader of the head gang in Ceres; he’d done only what was necessary to get there and to maintain his position.

From what Katze had learned of Riki during the investigation that Iason had demanded when he first took the young man, Riki was not just feared but respected and even well liked by most. With a reputation as the best fighter in Ceres, it was natural for people to want to test his mettle, sometimes it was necessary because a gang on the lower rung in the slums had a shit life and always wanted something more. But no one had been able to knock Riki down from his high perch, and eventually most gave up on it altogether. At least until a certain Blondie took a liking to him.

There was a running theme to people’s interaction with Riki; either they hated his guts because they were afraid of him and unable to win against him, or they admired and respected him for being the toughest son of a bitch they knew. One constant that even the whiners had to admit to was that Riki was fair. He wouldn’t start a fight but he would damn sure finish it, and if someone asked for mercy, most times he would give it, once. If that person challenged Riki a second time, they ended up dead.

Riki also never welshed on a deal and never lied about the terms of one. That also went for the members of his gang. As a leader he was a strong, level headed negotiator who was good at making the hard decisions. As a mongrel, he was the best pickpocket and thief in the slums, and a genius with anything electronic.

Riki had worked hard for that stubborn pride he wore like a fitted jacket and had earned it, in Katze’s opinion. Finding himself the pet of a Blondie had to be nearly incomprehensible to someone like Riki. Riki had been working to get out of the slums when he had come to Katze for work, he’d understood that he couldn’t stay in Ceres forever like so many mongrels were satisfied to do. He wanted more, he deserved more and yet...

Katze inhaled again as Riki’s cries faded away and in his heart he knew that there would be tears now. He’d been punished by Iason before when he was Furniture, and whether it was with a whip, a paddle, a cane, or just the Blondie’s hand, it was a fierce reckoning. Not even pride could stand against it.

“Katze?”

Katze looked down, having forgotten that Cal was even there.

“I know I shouldn’t allow emotion to get in the way, but I regret that Riki must act out like this, only to get hurt.”

“We’re allowed to feel it, kid,” Katze assured turning back to the view. “We just can’t show it or let it us effect us.”

“I wish Lord Orphe had not made such an unreasonable request. It has caused such bitterness between Riki and Master Iason.”

Katze suspected the only reason that Orphe had demanded that Riki be leashed in public was an attempt to humiliate the mongrel and piss of Iason. The Blondie’s had never approved of a mongrel pet, but Katze saw how they looked at Riki and he recognized lust when he saw it. Most coveted what Iason Mink was, what he owned, but nothing was coveted more so than Riki the Dark. They complained and treated the idea of a mongrel pet with distaste and derision, but they would all snatch Riki up in a heartbeat if they had the chance. Most of elites were sadistic, jealous fucks, again in Katze’s opinion.

“He brings it on himself. Riki understood the terms when he came back, he made his choice.”  


“But he is so unhappy here. He rarely goes out because he is so much older than the other pets. The Lords harass him horribly. He _is_ a pet, but such a station is not usually received with such unjustified hate. The other pets especially despise him.”

“No, they fear him, there’s a difference.”

“Regardless it makes him not wish to go outside, so he is cooped up here all day and night. It must be so difficult for him. ”

“He made his choice, Cal.” Katze wondered if he should talk to Iason about letting Riki come work for him again, at least once and a while to give the mongrel something to do. It was a thought. He finished his cigarette and doused it in the ashtray on the table. “You’d be better off not thinking about it so much and just do what you’re told to do.”

“I do! I always do, Katze. I am good Furniture.”

Katze nodded. “I know you are, and I know it’s hard not to like Riki and feel sorry for him, but you have to remember that all his acting out just creates trouble for Iason and that can’t be tolerated. Understand?”

“I do, of course I do. Perhaps I just needed to speak my concerns aloud. Thank you for listening.”

“Anytime you want to vent just call me. Being Furniture is hard enough, but being Iason’s furniture triples that difficulty. Hang in there, you’re doing a good job or I would have heard about it.”

Cal nodded as they stepped back inside and noticed that Riki’s cries had grown louder once again, but they were not cries of pain this time. “They may be awhile, would you like a drink while you wait?”

Katze again felt the swell of annoyance, he really didn’t want to sit here and listen to that! After a glance at his watch, he shook his head. “Tell Iason I had a meeting and couldn’t wait.”

“Oh, very well, let me get your coat.”

Katze waited for Cal to bring his blue and silver jacket and allowed the young boy to help him into it. “Listen, why don’t you ask Iason for some free time?”

“Free time?”

“He does give you free time, doesn’t he?”

“Oh yes, but he usually just tells me that I will no longer be needed for a period of time, I have never actually asked for any.”

“Well, ask, he won’t get mad and you need a break from here as much as Riki does.” Katze pulled the flaps of his jacket across his chest to fasten it and turned up the collar. “I’ve got tickets to a screen show day after tomorrow, around one, so I can pick you up around twelve-thirty. We’ll probably be back by four.”

“Oh! I would like that very much, and it would give me plenty of time still to prepare dinner.”

“Okay, just message me when it’s confirmed, okay?”

“Thank you, Katze. Cal held the called the elevator for him. “That is very kind of you.”

“No problem. You’re doing me a favour, I hate going to those things alone.” He paused as he stuck his hand into his jacket pocket then pulled out a fresh pack of cigarettes, he still had a half pack in the other pocket. “Give these to Riki.”

Cal’s eyes widened in surprise as he accepted the pack. “Oh!”

“You said he wanted to go out to get them right?”

“I did. I am sure he will appreciate it, Katze.”

Cal’s soft expression made Katze suddenly uncomfortable and he shifted on his feet.

“Right, so, later.” Katze waved and stepped through the doors as they opened. He waited until the doors closed before he tapped the micro com in his ear. “Yeah, Silas? Katze. I need two tickets to a screen show day after tomorrow, for around one. I don’t care what one, just get me the tickets and send them to my office. Good.”

He ended the call as the elevator doors open into the lobby and stepped out, immediately slamming into something hard and immoveable. He would have stumbled or fallen backwards if a pair of strong hands hadn’t gripped his upper arms to keep him in place.

“Raoul!” he said in surprise when he looked up. “I apologize, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“No harm done,” the Blondie assured as the elevator door closed. “I was just on my way to see Iason.”

“Is he expecting you?” Katze regretted the question the minute it was out of his mouth, especially when Raoul’s eyebrow rose at his impertinence. “I mean, he’s occupied so if he wasn’t expecting you, you may have to wait. A while.” He really hoped the Blondie understood what he was saying so he didn’t have to get into the specifics that Riki and Iason fucking would cause a significant delay for Raoul’s visit.

Luckily, Raoul did seem to catch the drift. “I see,” he returned calmly, while wishing that damned mongrel would just take a leap off Iason’s balcony and do them all a favour. He had cleared his entire afternoon in the hopes of taking Iason to lunch.

“If it’s important I’m sure...” Katze began seeing the disappointment on Raoul’s face.

“It wasn’t. I merely wanted to ask him to have lunch with me.”

“Oh.”

They stepped out of the way as the elevator dinged and someone else stepped off. He should go, or he’d be late for his meeting, but he remembered how he felt when Riki’s tantrum interfered with in his meeting with Iason. He felt a tug of guilt at the idea of leaving Raoul looking all sad puppy-faced and shit.

“Would you care to have lunch with me?” The words were out of Katze’s mouth before he’d even formed the possibility of it in his mind and, realizing he was being presumptuous, he took a step back, bowed his head slightly. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean...”

“I would love to have lunch with you, Katze.”

Katze lifted his gaze to Raoul, startled. “You would?”

“If your invitation is sincere?”

“I...” Was it? Well, he supposed it was or he wouldn’t have said it. “Yes. Yes it was, but I have a meeting right now. It shouldn’t take more than an hour though. If you don’t mind, why don’t we meet at Zales Bistro? They make a really good bowl of poi.”

Raoul smiled broadly. “That sounds delightful. I have been wanting to try that particular dish. Shall I meet you there around two then?”

“Let’s make it two thirty, if you don’t mind? In case my meeting runs long.”

“It isn’t anything dangerous is it? Should I accompany you?

“Oh, no, no.” He couldn’t even conceive of a Blondie entering the nest of scum and villainy he was about to go to. “It will be fine. I’m just going there to do some business.” They walked towards the doors. “So, Zales at two thirty, I’ll see you then.”

Raoul smiled again. “Yes. I look forward to it.”

Raoul wandered around the vendor stalls in the merchant area of Tanagura, for about thirty minutes, then entered a pet clothing salon and purchased some new articles for his pet, ignoring the subtle looks from the other customers in the store. They watched him, and he knew they spoke of him in hushed tones, but no one approached him or spoke to him. In fact, realizing he was there to stay, most of them quickly left the shop.

“Shall we send these to your home, Lord Am?” the salesclerk asked politely after the Blondie had made his selections.

“Yes.” Raoul spotted a rack of glittery earrings. “Do you have any studs?”

“Oh yes, we have several. Which kind are you looking for? We have ones for the tongue, eyebrow, nose, penis, labia...?”

“Ear. Just for the ear.”

How unusual, the clerk thought, most pets were pierced to be more aesthetically pleasing to their masters or to enhance sexual pleasure. Hardly anyone wore earrings just in the ear anymore, it was so very old fashioned.

He reached below the counter and pulled out a small tray of glittering stones.

Raoul examined them closely, all of them were real diamonds, which he approved of, but some were the rarer coloured variety. “This one.” He selected a pale blue-diamond stud that he anticipated would cost upwards of a hundred thousand credits.

“Ah yes, a beautiful gem, straight from the blue diamond mines of Saturn Four.”

“I’d like it in a box, wrapped.”

“Of course.” A present for his pet, the clerk thought as he quickly found a gift box, placed the studded earring inside it and wrapped it with a gold and silver ribbon. What a kind master to give such an expensive gift. “I’ll send it on with your other purchases.”

“No. I’ll take it with me.”

“Certainly sir.” The clerk offered the box and entered the Raoul Am’s purchase code.

It was standard procedure for all merchants to know a Blondie’s purchase code, for they did not carry credits and they could not be bothered with the trivialities of paying a bill. The purchase code created an invoice for the main system, and the amount was immediately deposited from the Blondie’s secured funds into the vendor’s account. As a copy of the invoice also went to the Furniture for that Elite for confirmation or dispute, no one dared to attempt a fraudulent invoice. Elites, Blondie’s in particular, were very unforgiving when it came to theft.

“Will there be anything else, Sir?”

Raoul heard the tinkle of a chime as the door open and two Emeralds stood at the shop entrance, spotted him and backed put again. “No.” Raoul pushed back his anger and slid the box into his pocket. “Thank you for your time.”

“It was a pleasure to serve you, Lord Am. Do come again.”

Raoul knew the vendor was only saying that because of the money he spent. He stepped back outside and called for a car to take him to his lunch appointment. He would be early, but he couldn’t spend one more moment in this place without killing someone.

Raoul entered the well known eatery at precisely two-ten and glanced around for a familiar red-head. Not seeing Katze, his eyes narrowed as an excited man in an eye-searing coloured shirt hurried to him; no doubt eager to have a Blondie in his establishment. Merchants were so easy to read, and so greedy.

“My Lord! What a pleasure! Are you dining alone or with company?”

“Someone will be joining me.” He pointed over the host’s head towards a secluded table in the back of the room. “I would like that table.”

“Of course, sir. Of course. If you will follow me.”

Raoul ignored the shocked stairs of the other diners, most Human or some mixed species, as he followed the host to the table he had chosen. He had never been here before, he tended to frequent establishments that catered specifically to Elites, but he supposed it would be alright just this once.

“Where is your selection?” Raoul asked as he examined the solid looking table with a cloth covering it.

“Forgive us, my Lord,” the host handed him a tall menu, beaming with pride and a touch of nervousness. “We do not offer electronic menus. All of our selections are here. The wine list is on the back.”

“On the same menu?” Raoul scowled as he turned the odd looking thing over. Well, he supposed one meal here wouldn’t kill him and he was truly delighted that Katze had invited him to eat. “How quaint. I may need a moment to decide.” He flicked his hand at the man and the host scurried off.

Raoul noticed that the wait staff was also dressed in ridiculous short sleeve shirts splashed with such a variety of coloured flowers that it was a wonder the patrons didn’t go blind after prolonged exposure. The music piped through the sound system was also unfamiliar, a sort of melodic swooning in a language he did not recognize, which was strange as he knew the languages of most sentient beings. A holo-screen took up the far wall and showed a sandy beach with waves gently rolling back and forth upon it.

Shaking his head at the overdone distractions, he looked back with distaste at the menu in his hand. There was the Poi that Katze had mentioned, along with several fish, pork and potato dishes. The wine list was atrocious, nothing beyond ten years old. Perhaps, just water.

He set the menu down, crossed one leg over the other and pulled out his personal data pad to do some work while he waited. When a cheerful waiter started towards him, he had only to turn his head, pin the boy with a hard green-eyed stare to have the lad turning back the other way in a hurry and disappearing into the kitchen.

“Raoul.” Katze rushed in and up to the table. “I apologize for being late.”

Raoul did not need to look at a clock to know that the black market dealer was exactly sixteen minutes late, time had passed quickly once he had blocked out the fashion and decorator atrocities around him. “I was doing some work while I waited.”

Katze nodded, picked up the menu and lifted his hand to signal the waiter. “Have you decided what you’d like?”

“Why don’t you order for me? Anything will be fine.”

“Alright.” As former Furniture Katze was used to anticipating the needs of an Elite, and had cooked enough meals for Iason to understand a Blondie’s tastes.

The same waiter that Raoul had rebuked with a glare earlier moved hesitantly to the table. “Aloha, Katze,” he greeted, glancing at the Blondie for further sign threat. “Uh...the usual?”

“Hey Lei” Katze smiled at the young man and handed the menu to him. “Let’s have two of the poi and two of the poke bowls. Is Maliki working today?”

“Alani is in the kitchen.”

Katze’s grin widened. “Even better. Add on the pineapple chicken and...” He glanced at Raoul. “Did you want wine?”

“Not from here.”

“Two sunrise cocktails.”

The waiter nodded, took the menus and hurried off, as if anxious to be away.

“You come here often?” Raoul inquired.

“Often enough.”

“You ordered meat. I don’t usually eat meat.”

“You don’t have to eat it now, the chicken is for me.”

Raoul chuckled at Katze’s audacity. “I see.”

“The poke has tuna in it, but fish is okay, right?”

Raoul nodded. “Occasionally.”

“It’s really good, you’ll like it. Trust me.”

“Have you found my Chupacabra yet?”

“I’ve still got three days,” Katze reminded as Lei arrived carrying a tray with their cocktails, a few sealed moist toilets and two bowls of thick poi.” “Ooohh, three fingers today, huh?”

The young man forgot about the Blondie for a moment and laughed. “Possibly five!”

“Three fingers?” Raoul asked as Lei wandered off again and he looked down at the bowl of strange, thick goo in front of him.

“The consistency of poi can be measured in how many fingers it takes to scoop it up. The thicker the poi, the more fingers needed, the better the taste.”

Raoul stared at him. “You expect me to eat this...this thing with my fingers?”

“It’s the traditional way,” Katze smiled as he tore open one of the cleansing wraps, ran it over his fingers. “But there’s a spoon under your napkin if you want to use it.”

Raoul found the spoon, stuck it in his bowl of Poi and saw that the utensil remained standing. Was he really expected to consume this? “Katze...” He began, but Katze had already dipped his fingers into the poi and was sucking them clean.

“Hmmm?”

Katze’s gold eyes rose to Raoul and the Blondie experienced a rush of arousal. For the first time, ever in his existence, Raoul Am was speechless.

“Is it disgusting to watch?” Katze asked and, misunderstanding the Blondie’s expression, he reached for the cleansing towel again. “Sorry, I’ll use a spoon.”

“No!”

Katze blinked, startled.

“It does not offend me.” No, Raoul thought, it didn’t offend him, but the fact that he wanted to lick that goop off of Katze’s fingers concerned him. “Truly. Eat as you are comfortable, Katze,”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Quite sure.”

“Okay.” Katze dipped his fingers in again rolled his eyes in pleasure at the taste. “It’s really good. I swear it is.”

“Yes. Well.” Raoul looked down at his bowl and the upright spoon, then scooping up a miniscule amount he slid the spoon into his mouth. His internal sensors immediately detected each and every ingredient, but overall was the surprisingly pleasing taste of it. “It is different than I expected.”

“Because it doesn’t taste like glue?”

Raoul nearly smiled, took another taste. Yes, it wasn’t bad over all. Probably not something he would eat on a regular basis, but once in awhile, perhaps. Especially if he could watch Katze eat it with him.

“Here, maybe this will help.” Katze reached down with his free hand and pulled up a small bag, which Raoul had not noticed him come in with. “Your Rubulon.”

“We haven’t concluded our deal yet,” Raoul stated but took the bag, pleased and glanced inside. There were three clear satchels, each sealed separately. He pulled out one, broke the seal and the scent of the spicy baked bread wafted towards him. “That smells wonderful,” he decided and broke the bread in half, then halved it again and passed the second portion to Katze. He dipped his piece in the poi, tasted it. “Yes. It is much better with the bread. Thank you, Katze.”

“That’s your free portion,” Katze said as he did the same with his bread and had to agree that the mixture was amazing.

Lei arrived with their other dishes and Raoul found he was much less reluctant to try them; he even tasted Katze’s pineapple chicken as they chatted. Raoul was doing most of the talking, but Katze wasn’t just a sounding board. The man offered some very clever insights and had a charming wit when released.

“That was all very good,” Raoul decided at the end of their meal. “Far better than I expected.”

Katze grinned as small woman, as round as she was tall, in a long flowered dress and grey hair shuffled to their table with two plates of pie.

“On the house,” she said sweetly and patted Katze’s cheek. “On promise you come back again soon. You stay away too long this time.”

“Sorry Kuku Wahini.” Katze offered, in the Hawaiian term for grandmother and gave her his best smile. “If I come too often I’ll be as big as Mister.”

She laughed, a full bellied sound that made her whole body shake and roll pleasantly. “You eat here _every_ day you not get big as my man!” She turned her attention to Raoul. “Aloha, Lord Am. You come again soon too? We make you special dishes that will make your mouth cry with joy.”

Raoul had experienced all manner or superfluous greetings and eager invitations from people, this was the first time he had felt the words were sincere. “Thank you, Madam. I may do that. Your food was delicious.”

She beamed at him, and waived at the plates she had set on the table. “Enjoy then.”

Katze tucked into his pie and was already half-way finished before he realized he was being watched. He lifted his gaze to the Blondie staring at him. “Problem?”

He had known Katze many years and yet he had never seen this affable and humorous side to him. “You are different than I imagined.”

Katze straightened and put his fork down, concerned he had somehow offended the Elite. “Sorry, they know me here. I didn’t mean to...”

Raoul waved a hand at him. “It is not a complaint. It pleases me to see a side of you that I have not before.”

Katze lowered his eyes to his pie, disturbed. This wasn’t a geometry lesson and he wasn’t a Hexagon, talking about sides and whatever. “It isn’t like we’ve spent a lot of time together before,” he admitted and wondered if perhaps he should limit his time with Raoul? It wouldn’t be good for anyone, other than Iason to get to close to him. He felt comfortable around Raoul for some reason, then again, maybe that was reason enough to stay away. Dangerous territory alright.

“I have something for you.”

Katze lifted his gaze again as Raoul held out the small wrapped box. “For me?” It couldn’t be a credit voucher, he hadn’t found that damn dog yet. “Why?”

“Open it.”

Katze reluctantly accepted the box, slid off the ribbon and lifted the lid. The sparkle of the stud almost took his breath away. He dealt in the black-market and he knew fake from real, and this was a real blue diamond. “Raoul...”

“You have saved me from the boredom of my own company twice now,” the Blondie explained as he sliced off a piece of his pie, with absolutely no interest in eating it. “I wish to convey my gratitude for your time.”

Katze stared at the earring, thought of the small black stud in his ear that he always wore, for no particular reason other than to keep the hole from closing over. The diamond was stunning and part of him wanted to put it in his ear right then, to show his pleasure, but he couldn’t.

“Thank you.” He closed the box, set it back on the table. “But, I can’t accept this, Raoul.”

“Of course you can. It is a gift from a Blondie, how is it not acceptable?”

“No, I mean.” Katze gathered his thoughts then met Raoul’s perplexed gaze. “This is a very expensive gift for a drink and some food. I didn’t do those things to get something from you, certainly not something like this.”

“I understand, and that is why I wish you to have it.” Take it, Raoul thought, irritably. Why will you not take what I offer? Why must you be like everyone else and turn away from me? “The expense means nothing, but if you do not wish to accept it as a gift, take it as a bribe. You do accept those, as I recall?”

Katze appreciated the attempted joke, but could hear an underlining annoyance under it. He searched for a way not to offend the Blondie further. “I don’t need this, Raoul. I am touched by the offer, but I can’t accept it.”

Raoul’s hand speared out and snatched Katze’s wrist. “What will it take then?” he demanded, his usually bemused eyes flashing now with cold anger. “What would you ask of me?”

Katze tried not to wince at the Blondie’s grip, kept his voice calm, his expression neutral. “I ask nothing of you, Lord Am.”

Lord Am. Why was Katze being so formal again? Raoul glanced down, saw his hand on the man’s wrist and quickly pulled it back. Would there be bruises, he wondered, and felt he might regret if there were.

“I merely wish to ascertain what you require for future consent, Katze. To work a deal. That _is_ what you are best at, is it not?”

A deal? For what? To spend time with him? That couldn’t be it. Raoul was a Blondie of Tanagura, one of the richest most powerful and respected beings in the galaxy. He couldn’t possibly want for company or entertainment.

And yet, as Katze dared to stare into that incredibly enchanting face he caught a brief glimpse of an expression he would have thought impossible for a Blondie to have. A look that had been reflected many times in his own mirror; stark, unfettered loneliness. Could Raoul actually feel such an exclusively Human emotion? Could any Elite?

He thought back to the rumours that were always circulating about the Blondie and how the other Elites had treated him, spoke of him at the club just last week. Did the rumours and talk actually bother Raoul? But he was friends with Iason, surely they did things together? Were companions?

Then again, since Riki’s return to Eos, Iason had been kept very busy by his pet, so perhaps Raoul was facing the same dilemma Katze was in competing with Riki for Iason’s time and attention. Could that actually bother a Blondie enough that he would seek out to pay for companionship?

“If you are finished your pie, have the proprietor use my code for the cost.” Raoul said rising, and Katze shot to his feet.

“Wait. Raoul, wait. Sit down.” When the Blondie coldly regarded him he added. “Please.”

Raoul sat down but his expression did not change.

Katze searched for the right way to proceed. “If I offended you, I apologize...” he began and watched Raoul’s eyes flash again and he reared up once more.

“I do not need your apologies!”

“No! I know, but, please. Just, hear me out.”

Raoul sat a second time, displeasure radiating from him.

“I’m just trying to understand what you’re asking,” Katze clarified, and in a way that would not get him broken in half by the angry Elite. “If I understand you correctly, you bought me that gift so that I would continue to meet with you? Have lunch or drinks, or whatever?”

That hadn’t been Raoul’s intention, not completely anyway. He had simply seen the earring and thought it would look good on Katze. But his answer was a clipped. “Yes.”

“Okay.” Katze took a deep breath to settle his nerves. He had to tread very carefully here because a Blondie’s ego, like their anger, could be terrifying. “If that’s the case, I’ll say now that I have no problem getting together occasionally with you, socially.”

Raoul’s anger dimmed slightly and he directed his full attention to the man opposite him. “Then we have a deal?” He pushed the gift box towards Katze, irritated when Katze pushed it right back across the small table. “Do you wish a different stone? A different colour?” What did this Human want of him? What?!

“I don’t want or need a gift to spend time with you, Raoul. That’s what I’m saying. We don’t have to make any kind of deal here, we can just agree to be...” What? Companions? Play dates? Friends? “To meet occasionally on a personal and social level.”

“You would be willing to do that without compensation?”

Katze struggled not to roll his eyes. “I have lunch with other people, sometimes drinks, sometimes dinner.” Most often it was business related but he didn’t think it would help his situation to mention that. He thought of what he had asked Cal. “Sometimes, we even go to a show. I don’t ask for compensation from them, so why would I ask it from you?”

Raoul was startled to find he had no answer. Few were willing to spend any time at all with him unless there was some sort of compensation involved, or unless they needed a great favour. Iason was, of course, the exception.

“If you want to get together, all you have to do is ask. You have my com number, call me up and if our schedules allow it, we’ll get together.”

That’s it? That’s all? Raoul usually had to wait weeks possibly months to schedule any sort of meeting with his brothers or the other Elites because they always put him off. Studying the sincerity in Katze’s golden eyes he felt a little tickle in his chest.

“Then, yes. I would like to do that. To meet on occasion. Not often, as I am very busy with work, you understand?”

“So am I, very busy. But, occasionally, sure, we can meet up.”

Raoul felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, one he had been unaware that he had been carrying. “I see. Good. That is good.”

“Right, so you understand that I don’t _need_ gifts to continue this new...relationship?”

Raoul nodded. “Yes. Yes, I underestimated you, Katze, that was my error. I understand now.”  


“Good.” Katze sat back and breathed a sigh of relief, then lowered his gaze to the gift box, smirked, and lifted it back to the Blondie. “Can I still have it though, because it’s really pretty.”

Raoul smiled in delight at his honesty and pushed the box at him. “Yes.”

Katze opened the box again, pulled his old earring out and slid the new one in. It was so light he could barely feel it at all! He turned his head sideways. “How’s it look?”

“It suits you.” Yes, Raoul decided. He had chosen well. “It suits you precisely.”

“Really?” Katze grinned set his old earring in the box then placed it in his pocket. “But no more gifts, right?”

Raoul nodded again. “No, no more gifts.” He leaned forward, pushed up the sleeve of Katze’s jacket to look at the pale wrist beneath. “It may bruise.”

“I don’t bruise easily, don’t worry.” Katze pulled his hand back, pushed his sleeve down and rose. “I do have another appointment though, so I should head out.”

“Yes, I need to return to work as well.” Raoul rose and followed Katze back to the front where the Blondie stopped at the little desk here.

“I already paid,” Katze assured and held the main door open for the Blondie.

“I see.” He tried to remember the last time someone paid for his meal, other than Iason, and even that had been several years before. “Thank you, Katze.”

They stepped out into the unrelenting sun. “Do you want me to call a car for you?”

“I have one.” Raoul pointed to the vehicle that had brought him to the eatery and had been patiently waiting ever since. “I will say goodbye then.”

“Goodbye, Raoul.”

Katze waited until the Blondie slipped into the back of the vehicle and it started away before he walked to his own car. He reached for the door, winced and used his other hand to open it. Sliding inside, he opened the dash compartment and took out a mini-healing wand. Carefully pulling off his jacket, he stared at his swollen, throbbing wrist, then quickly ran the wand over it.

What the hell had he gotten himself into?

 


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raoul has a problem and Iason sends Katze to help.

Raoul left his office in the main tower and started down one of the glides to the lower levels. He needed to speak to Iason about some issues on a joint project, but as usual the Blondie was proving difficult to get a hold of.

Several Elites nodded to him in acknowledgement as he reached the next level and started down the corridor, but no one attempted to engage him in conversation. It was just as well, he was in a foul mood.

Katze had found him the specimen he desired and delivered it with twelve hours to spare, but after nearly a month he had still been unable to discern a way to utilize the Chupacabra’s blood sucking ability. His other experiments were also not going well. Normally he would take a break and go have dinner with his brother, but Iason was swamped with work and what little time the Blondie had was devoted to that damned mongrel.

He paused by the railing as his communicator signaled and he pulled it out, scowling when he saw who it was. “Iason. I contacted you hours ago.”

“My apologies, brother, I was otherwise occupied.”

Raoul caught just a glimpse of a naked leg on the bed behind Iason and swallowed back his bitterness. “Understandable. We need to meet with the investor for the Quadra plant factory.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Not a problem, but I was looking over the numbers and I do not believe the cost is properly reflected in the materials they are using.”

“That is a problem,” Iason agreed as he glanced over his shoulder, smiled, then turned back and Raoul watched that lovely smile fade. “Can’t you deal with it?”

“I can, certainly, but you indicated that you wished to give these contractors more leeway than usual. It may well be just an error in their accounting; however I checked it twice and...” Raoul snapped his mouth shut as he heard the mongrel swear fiercely and Iason’s eyebrow arch up in amusement. “And,” he continued, irritated that his brother could not at least give his full attention for a few meager minutes of conversation. “We agreed that they are the best ones for the project, therefore we must be delicate in our negotiations...”

“Go to the site and check the materials yourself, and if they are inferior make them understand everything must be redone at their own cost.”

“Yes, of course, but Iason...”

“Take Katze with you. I’ve sent him over there to deliver some documents for me and he’ll recognize quality.” Again Iason’s attention was diverted by something, or rather someone in the room. “Riki, stop sulking and go take your bath.”

“Fuck off!”

Iason sighed. “Just do what you think is best, Raoul. I have to go punish my pet.”

Raoul did not even have a chance to respond before the transmission was ended. This project was supposed to be one they dealt with together. They had talked about it for many years before they found just the right place, just the right people to work on it, and now Iason was blowing off their years of planning and hard work for some stupid Human. Oh, it was beyond frustrating.

“What did you think of Aisha’s new pet?” a Platinum asked his blue-haired companion as they stood at the railing directly below the Raoul’s platform.

“It cries very enticingly.”

“Agreed. It is _that one’s_ creation.”

The Sapphire nodded. “Did you see him at the Nines Club the other night? Sharing desert with a mongrel?”

“That was no mongrel, that was Iason’s man, Katze. As I understand it comes from the Eastern region and was not raised in Ceres.”

“He won’t be Iason’s long if Raoul gets his claws into him. Can you imagine what Iason would say if his man was turned into some disgusting, genetic mutation?”

The Platinum chuckled. “I imagine their brotherhood would finally be ended. Perhaps Am would actually mate with the end result, then Jupiter might finally listen to our requests to send him off planet.”

As the Sapphire laughed, Raoul felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned to allow Katze to pull him back and away from the railing. He watched as the red-head stepped forward uncapped his juice bottle and set it on the thin railing, then used his finger to tip the drink off its precarious balance. The thick red liquid splattered all over the hair and clothing of the two Elites below, causing several others that were passing by to gasp in shock. Katze looked down as the Elite’s glared upwards.

“My sincere apologies, my lords!” Katze insisted with a near avid desperation. “I perched my bottle on the rail to take a call and it got away from me. I am so horribly sorry!”

“How dare...” the Sapphire cried in outrage, the red juice dripping from his hair and down his face so that he looked like a circus clown with runny makeup.

“Quite alright, Katze, quite alright!” The Platinum called up even as his companion continued to rant indignantly. “An accident. Only an accident.” He grabbed the Sapphire’s arm and quietly hissed. “It is Katze. What do you actually plan to do to him? What do you think you _can_ do to one that belongs to Iason Mink?”

The Sapphire sputtered but attempted to contain his rage.

“I feel horrible about this,” Katze continued, his face a billboard of sincerity. “Please forgive me, my Lords. I will advise Lord Mink of my actions. I am sure he would be happy to pay for new outfits for you both and you may, of course, choose my punishment.”

Again the Sapphire opened his mouth, only to have the other Elite slap a hand over it. “No need to bother Iason with such a trivial matter. Really, it’s quite alright.”

“What are you saying?” The Sapphire spat. “Look at us! I demand compensation!”

“Do _you_ want to tell Iason that his right hand man spilled juice on us and we were too busy gossiping to move out of the way? We would both look like fools! Besides, Katze is the only one who can get that brandy we like.”

The Platinum waved at Katze. “No need to bother Iason, Katze. This is an old outfit. I was going to buy another anyway.”

“You are too generous, my lord, and too kind! At least allow me to send you a case of Sauran brandy? No, two cases, one for each of you, as an apology?”

“Yes! Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Katze. Now, if you will excuse us.”

Katze kept the regretful look on his face until the two Elites disappeared around a corner, then his eyes turned cold and flat. His lips firmed as a droid rushed forward to pick up the empty juice bottle and started cleaning the mess. When Katze turned his attention to the railing in front pf him, he noticed the indentations made by Raoul’s fingers.

“I’ll contact maintenance to come and fix this.”

“Why did you do that?” Raoul asked quietly.

“Do what?” Katze waved down a another passing droid, showed him the damage and the droid sent the work order to a maintenance crew. “Oh that? The bottle slipped. They were very nice to let me off the hook.”

“Indeed,” Raoul agreed. He had watched Katze deliberately remove the stopper from the bottle and turn it over, it was no accident, and yet the former Furniture had handled the situation with all the practiced guile and manipulation of a true Blondie. It was impressive. “Have you spoken with Iason?”

“Yes, he said you needed me to accompany you to speak to the contractors for the greenhouse project.”

“You know of the project?” Raoul asked as they started walking towards the next glide.

“Just the minimum details. Iason mentioned the materials don’t match up to the cost?”

Raoul nodded. At least Iason had taken the time to inform Katze before he went off to play with his pet. “I had hoped Iason would accompany me. He is far more experienced in dealing with such matters and there is also the intimidation factor, should they attempt to argue with our findings.”

“You’re plenty intimidating, so it should be fine.” Raoul stopped walking and Katze went a few more steps before realizing he was alone. “What?”

“You think I am intimidating?”

“Raoul, you’re a Blondie. Of course you’re intimidating.”

“No. No I’m not. People fear me, but that is not the same as being intimidating.”

“It works for Iason.”

“Iason has more than fear in his favour, he is well known and well respected.”

Katze regarded Raoul for a full minute, before he started walking away. “I don’t fear you.”

Raoul felt a jolt of surprise. How was that possible? Everyone feared him. Everyone, but Iason and Jupiter, because he was different, because he was macabre and misunderstood. “Truly, Katze?”

“No. Why should I?”

“Then you agree that I am not intimidating.”

Katze scowled. “One has nothing to do with the other. You just said that fear is not intimidation. It also works with fame and respect, which you also have.”

Raoul did not consider himself to be respected in the least, even though he was the top scientist in the sector. He took a step closer. “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

Katze scratched the scar on his cheek and tried not to show the sudden awkwardness Raoul was causing him. Why the hell were they even talking about this? “I’ve known you since I was a kid, Raoul. I’ve learned, as any good Furniture does, to anticipate your needs just as I have with Iason. In doing so, I’ve also learned what things annoy you, even anger you, so of course, I’m careful not to do those things.”

“Are you saying you understand me?”

Katze shook his head and quickly backpedalled. “I would never presume to say that about any Elite.”

Clever, confident and cautious were the words that exactly described Katze. “Perhaps you do not find me intimidating?”

“Oh, I find you very intimidating, Raoul, which is why I make sure not to anger you.” Katze glanced at him. “But even when you are intimidating, you are always fair and that’s not a trait most Elites seem to have.”

Raoul stared at Katze, touched by his words. “I do believe that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, thank you.”

Katze shrugged and ignored the slight tinge of embarrassment. “Think of it as I studied an equation and I learned what formulas end in a good result and what ones, well...explode. As anyone with half a brain, I’m going to stick with the good formulas to avoid any explosions.”

“And you respect me?”

“Of course. You’re an amazing scientist and genetic profiler. And, you’re a Blondie of Tanagura. Why wouldn’t I respect you?”

Raoul studied him for a long, hard moment, then started to walk towards the glides again. Katze silently followed, wondering why a Blondie of all people was fishing for compliments and if he’d said the wrong thing after all.

At the lowest level of the tower, they took a tram cylinder to the underground garages which were located on the boundaries of EOS. No vehicles could come inside the Elite’s main living and work area. Once in the garage they wandered through the nest of cars.

“Shall we take my car or yours?” Katze inquired.

“Yours, and you drive.”

“Of course.” Katze stopped by his convertible-top racer, opened the passenger side door for Raoul, then walked around to climb behind the wheel. He reached for the control to close the top and Raoul said.

“No, leave it open.”

“Have you ridden in an open top before?”

“No. I would like to see what it feels like.”

Katze looked at all that long, luscious, perfectly groomed hair and thought of the state it would be in by the time they got to their destination. Having a head like a birch broomstick in the fits might lesson the intimidation factor for the Blondie.

“Huh. Okay.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a moment, then reached across Raoul into the small glove compartment. “Sorry, excuse me for just, aha!”

Raoul tilted his head, curious when Katze came out with a large beaded clip. “What is that for?”

“You might want to put your hair up,” Katze said, offering it to the Blondie. “It gets pretty windy in an open top.”

“Oh. Very well.”

Katze was slightly appalled when, instead of taking the clip, Raoul turned slightly in the seat and presented his back to him, indicating that Katze should take care of the hair. Oh, well, shit. Okay. He cracked his neck, he had only ever touched Iason’s hair before. But then his training kicked in and he carefully gathered up the beautiful blond strands as well as best he could, twisted it several times, then secured the clip. He tugged a little and it seemed to stay in place, so settled back in his own seat and faced forward.

Raoul patted the pile of hair atop his head, nodded. “Thank you, Katze.”

“You’re welcome, Raoul.” Katze switched on the ignition. “Are we going to the main building site?”

“Yes. Do you need the coordinates?”

“I have them.” Katze programmed them into the in-dash computer, then threw the vehicle in gear and drove out of the garage. He maintained a discrete, steady speed through Tanagura, but once they hit the border of the city he punched it.

Raoul actually smiled as the wind raced over them in a thrilling rush of power and speed, “Do you always drive like this?” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise of the engine, road and wind.

“Do you want me to slow down?” Katze called back.

“Absolutely not. I like it!”

Katze grinned, adjusted the gearshift and pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor. “Then hang on!”

It took them considerably less time to reach their destination then what the car computer had estimated and Raoul was intrigued by that fact. Katze was definitely a forceful and fast driver, yet he handled the car expertly, even when there were other vehicles on the road.

Raoul reached up and plucked the clip out of his hair, shaking his head so it fell back in place, then he handed the clip to Katze. “Who owns this?”

“My assistant Shiela. She sometimes accompanies me and she also has long hair.” He tossed it in the glove compartment then stepped out of the car. Rounding to the other side to open the door for Raoul, then blinked as the Blondie rose and caught his arm.

“Thank you,” the Blondie said quietly, squeezing Katze’s arm. “For not fearing me.”

There it was again, Katze realized, that sadness in the Blondie’s deep green eyes. He wondered if Raoul had looked that way when he was at the railing as well, listening to those two Elites.

“Why did you do it?”

Katze knew Raoul was talking about the juice incident and decided to answer honestly. “Harsh words and injustice is a part of life here, but disrespect just pisses me off.”

Raoul slowly smiled. How nice, he thought.

“Okay.” Katze smacked his fist to his palm wanting to take that sadness off the Blondie’s face. “Let’s go put the fear of Raoul Am into these schmucks.”

“Indeed.” Raoul agreed and followed.

 

 


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katze keeps Raoul waiting but has a good reason.  
> \------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for commenting, glad you are liking the story so far. I'm on the fence about it myself, so may only do a few more chapters. Please enjoy and review if you feel like it. :-)
> 
> \-------------------------------------

Raoul did not need to look at his wrist unit to know that Katze was late, again. He tried to smother his irritation at being kept waiting a second time and was just about to call Katze, when he saw the black-market dealer enter the high-end restaurant.

Raoul had not minded the other places they had eaten, but this time he’d insisted on proper food and ambiance when he had called to invite the former Furniture to dinner. Katze had mentioned something about a meeting, but that he would meet Raoul at the restaurant at the agreed to time. That time had passed thirty minutes ago and Raoul, as a Blondie, was unaccustomed to having to wait.

Normally, he would not have waited more than five minutes for anyone and would have taken it as a direct insult that they dared to be late. His time was valuable, but this was Katze and their new friendship was still precarious. Raoul did not have many friends, and with Iason so busy with work and his pet, Katze was the only companionship he had been able to find lately.

He looked up sternly as the red-head walked to the table. “You’re very late.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t get away sooner.” Katze sat down, waved his hand over the table and a hologram menu instantly popped up between them. “Did you order?”

Raoul waved a gloved hand over the table, removing the menu. “Why are you so late? Why didn’t you at least call me?”

“I couldn’t...” Katze took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should have called. Again, I apologize.”

Raoul was moderately mollified but as he studied his dinner companion, he noticed that a bead of sweat ran across Katze’s brow. “Are you well?”

“I’m fine. Can we order?” When Raoul nodded Katze brought up the menu again, whistled. “Wow, they don’t stint on food here, do they?”

“No. It is very exclusive and no other restaurant has the food they offer.”

Katze picked the first thing on the menu as his choice and requested a glass of whisky to go with it. Raoul did not remark on his choice, but made his own a selection then waved the menu away. “How did your sale of the canisters go?”

“I haven’t met with the buyer yet,” Katze replied.  “They’ll be coming next week, but I expect it to go well.” He reached for the sealed set of utensils that popped out of the side slot of the table, fumbled them.

“I’m sure Iason will be pleased with the substantial profit,” Raoul returned then scowled when Katze bent to pick up the utensils and turned deathly pale. “Katze?”

Katze slowly straightened in his chair and managed a nod. “Yeah. It was a good deal all around.” He tried to pull the protective covering off his fork and knife but his hands were shaking too much.

“Katze, what is the matter? Are you ill?”

“I’m fine. They make these things really hard to get into sometimes.”

Raoul reached over and slit the plastic, pulled out the silverware, then grabbed Katze’s hand. “Why are you trembling so?”

“I...” Katze reached for his whisky as a server brought it and Raoul’s wine to the table. He downed it in one go. “I’m fine.”

But Raoul noticed the almost imperceptible wince when Katze set the glass down again, and his keen eyes caught Katze’s movement as he pressed a hand to his side where there was a touch of red against his pale blue shirt, just underneath his jacket.

“You’re injured!”

“Ssssh!” Katze insisted looking around. “Things got a little hectic at my last meet up, but I’m fine.”

Raoul pulled Katze’s chair towards him as if it were empty, tossed up the man’s shirt and saw the dark stain of blood seeping through the bandage around his waist. “You are bleeding!”

“Just a little. I already treated it and it’s fine, Raoul. Really.”

“What happened?”

“Punk kid had a sticker and I was stupid enough to think he was too young to try to stab me.” Katze carefully maneuvered his chair back in place, sat down again. “Shows what I know.”

“You need to go to a medical facility and have this properly looked after.” When Raoul started to lift his hand to signal the waiter for the bill, Katze caught his wrist.

“Don’t!” He winced more noticeably this time because the movement pulled at his wound, and then snatched his hand back when he realized his transgression; how dare he touch a Blondie! “Sorry. Look, let’s just have dinner like we agreed and then we can go.”

“I do not care about the dinner!” Raoul rose. “You need medical attention!”

“I need you to sit your ass down!”

Raoul stared at Katze shocked, then his eyes narrowed in anger. “How dare you...”

“We _can’t_ leave!” Katze growled through gritted teeth, appalled at his show of temper but the pain in his side hurt ten times more than it had when he’d first been stabbed.  He saw that they were gathering an audience, carefully rose and leaned in close to Raoul. “Sit down, Raoul, or I swear I will knock you down.”

Raoul’s hand swung up angrily and he was stunned when Katze actually caught hold of his wrist again and prevented the blow to his face. “Do you wish to die?”

“No, and I don’t want you to die either.” Katze met the Blondie’s gaze squarely. “I’m not trying to be impertinent, but I _need_ you to do this for me, Raoul. Lord Am. Please.”

Something in Katze’s tone changed Raoul’s anger to curiosity and concern. He didn’t understand why Katze was behaving in such a manner, but he settled back in his chair cast his gaze at the other diners so that they had the good sense to look away and mind their own business.

“You will tell me everything, now, Katze, or I will knock you unconscious and carry you out of here.”

Katze nodded, carefully sat back down and tried to breathe through his teeth. He _had_ treated the stab wound, but he’d been moving around too much for the stitches he had applied to stay closed. Now, besides his side, his hand also hurt because stopping a blow from a Blondie was no easy feat, but he couldn’t afford to be knocked senseless, and he had no doubt that was exactly what would have happened at Raoul’s hand connected.

 “I had a meet at this bar in the West End. It’s a dive and the people there are scum, but I’ve been there before so I knew the layout and most of the patrons.”

“Why go to such a place? What possible business could you do there?”

“Black Market business.” Katze tried not to roll his eyes. “Anyway, I had just finished with the terms of the deal, got my product when the guy starts saying that I cheated him, which I didn’t. The deal was valid and exact terms were met, but he’s tried that shit before.”

“Then why would you bother doing business with that person?”

“He is the only one in three sectors that can get the product!” Katze snapped, then lowered his gaze. “Sorry.”

“Did you resolve the matter then? About cheating?”

“More or less.” Katze reached for his drink and remembered it was empty, set it down. He was suddenly tremendously thirsty; dehydration was a sign of blood loss. Shit. “This time, instead of just complaining, he pulled a blaster on me.”

“You said you were stabbed not shot!”

“He didn’t shoot me, Raoul. I pulled my blaster at the same time and my weapon won.” Katze banged his fist on the table in frustration. “Damn it!”

Raoul brought up the table menu, ordered a glass of water then waved it away. He could have offered his wine but he did not think more alcohol would be beneficial to the injured man.  “You are disturbed that you had to shoot him?”

“No, I’m pissed that because I’m such a good shot the asshole is dead. I just told you that he was the only dealer for that specific product in three sectors. Now I have to find another one or deal with the Raylons, which I absolutely do not want to do!”

“If you killed him before he could shoot you, then how did you get injured?”

“Once he went down, three more guys came at me, so I had to fend them, off.” The server appeared with the glass of water and Katze took it gratefully, drank half of it. “Which I mostly did, but this little kid who was serving drinks, he couldn’t have been more than eight and probably didn’t have a valid work registration number, but few in that area do. Anyway, this kid slid in behind me, under my arms and stabbed me. I saw him at the last second and turned or he would have got me right in the heart.”

“Where are these men and this child now?”

Katze didn’t like the menacing look on Raoul’s face. “One of them is dead, the others probably crawled off somewhere to lick their wounds. I didn’t see where the kid went.” He had but he wasn’t about to tell Raoul that. Sticker or no, the kid was not even a teen yet and he knew better than most that some just didn’t have the choice of where and how they grew up. “I got out, got to my car. I keep some medical supplies in it. I drove as far as I could, then stopped on the side of the road and treated my wound.”

“You should have gone straight to a medical facility!”

“Hey,” Katze managed a smirk, he was getting light-headed now and his vision was starting to blur.  He was definitely losing blood. “I had a date.”

Raoul wasn’t quite sure why, but the comment both amused and angered him. “You haven’t explained why you won’t go now. Why you insist that we remain here.”

“Because they followed me. They picked up my trail and followed me and I can’t go outside because you’re with me and that would put you in danger.”

“Do you think I need your protection?” Raoul growled. This was why Katze had dared to risk his wrath in such a foolish manner?  In some misplaced sense of defending him, protecting him?  “I am a Blondie of Tanagura! Let them come. You are going to the clinic right now!”

“Five minutes! Just five more...” Katze’s communicator beeped and he hurried to pull it out of his pocket, set it on audio and pressed it to his ear. “Go. Yeah? Yeah. Good. No, take them to Apothecary. Yeah, I’ll meet you there later. Thanks.”

He disconnected the call and offered Raoul a wan smile as he slowly rose. “See, _now_ we can go.”

Raoul rose, not from Katze’s bidding but because the Human looked like he might fall over at any moment. “You go too far,” he warned darkly, even as he grabbed Katze’s arm and started to steer him towards the exit. “Do not think I will tolerate such behaviour, Katze. You will be punished as soon as your injury has been seen to and I devise an appropriate method.”

“Ah. You want me completely healthy before you beat the shit out of me. Very practical.”

Raoul leaned closer to whisper. “You will experience the pain more fully that way,” he insisted against the man’s sarcasm.

As they moved to the door the host hurried towards them, but a look from Raoul had the man scurrying back and they so that they made it to the exit unimpeded.

 “What has changed?” the Blondie demanded as they stepped outside and into the warm evening air. “Who was that call from?”

“My men, they got the ones following me. It’s all good now.”

“Is it? I do not think it is very good at all!”

“No. I offended you, I’m sorry. Hey, Raoul?”

“Yes?”

“You can do that now, if you want?”

“Do what?”

“Carry me.” And with those words, Katze passed out.

****************

Katze awoke on a bed as soft as a cloud, in a room as plush as a King’s chamber, his nearly naked body wrapped in deliciously silken sheets.

“Where?” he began, this definitely was not his room, his bed.

“Lie still.”

Katze turned his head to see Raoul sitting beside the bed in a high-back armchair. “Raoul?” He tried to remember what had happened. Oh yeah, the meet, then dinner. Had they had dinner? No. Maybe not. He was hurt and waiting for it to be safe to leave. “Where am I?”

“You are in my bedroom, and if you do not lie still, I will strap you to that bed.”

Katze scowled, ran a hand over his bare chest; no not bare, he had a beige medicine patch covering his side where he had been stabbed. “Clinic?”

“Yes, clinic you stubborn fool! Your foolish pride almost caused you to bleed to death!”

Katze closed his eyes for a moment, gathered his strength, and courage, then opened them again to meet the Blondie’s angry gaze. “I didn’t want those guys knowing I was with you, Raoul, with a Blondie. They have no respect for Elites and would have tried to hurt you.”

“They were welcome to try.” Raoul rose, then settled on the bed, facing Katze. “Do you think me incapable of defending myself? Are you like the others, who only see me as a freak scientist, with no courage and no sense?”

“No! No, I don’t think that at all.” Katze threw up his hands frustrated, then cried out because it pulled at his wound. “Shit.” He breathed deep for a moment. “I don’t think anything of the kind, Raoul, truly. I respect you immensely and I can’t even comprehend the creativity, ingenuity and courage required to do the things you do, to think as you do. To have the insight to ask the kinds of questions no one else even dreams about and to then actually find the answers to those questions. I mean, that...that’s incredible!”

Raoul stared at him. “Are you trying to flatter me so I will forget how angry I am with you?”

“Depends,” Katze returned with a small smile. “Is it working?” He saw the Blondie’s lips twitch, even as the green eyes narrowed. “I meant what I said, Raoul. I do think you’re amazing and I always have, which is why I didn’t want to put you in a situation where you would have to fend off a bunch of stupid idiots. It wouldn’t be good for your image and it would only cause trouble for you in the end. I didn’t mean to say you were helpless, nothing like that.”

“And you would have, what was it, knocked me down, had I not complied?”

Katze scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Did I say that?” he asked and offered wry smile. “I don’t remember much after we placed our order.”

“ _You_ are a liar.” A very good, very charming liar, but a liar all the same.

“Yes,” Katze admitted readily. “But I am sorry, I’m not lying about that, and if you feel the need to punish me, I will accept that punishment, truly.” He patted the patch at his side. “But I’m not better yet, though, so you’ll have to wait to carry out my punishment.”

Raoul’s expression softened at the man’s bottomless wit.  “You worried me, Katze. I am not accustomed to such a feeling. You were late to our dinner, and then to find out you were injured and did not take care of yourself properly. That is not acceptable.”

“I made a mistake, it happens.” Katze grinned again, shifted slightly so he could sit up against the headboard. “Rarely, but it happens. It was a bad call all around and I paid the price for it.” He pulled the sheets up closer around his waist, as if suddenly modest. “I’m feeling decidedly vulnerable right now, sitting here injured and mostly naked in your bed, so can you cut me a break and please stop scolding me? Can’t we just move on from this?”

“And this?” Raoul traced another scar higher up on Katze’s right shoulder. He doubted the former furniture even knew the meaning of the word vulnerable and was once again, trying to using charm to manipulate the situation.  “Was this another bad judgement call?”

“Ah, that was years and years ago, when you were just a tiny baby Blondie.” The joke fell flat and Katze cleared his throat. “It was from when I first went to work as a dealer. I’d just come from a safe, secure environment as Furniture into an environment that was...not so safe and secure. I was too eager to do a good job. To eager to impress Iason for giving me the trust to be more than just Furniture and a woman caught me in the shoulder with a broken beer bottle.”

“A woman did that to you?” Raoul tsked. “Really, Katze.”

“Hey! As Furniture the only females I was ever around were pets and they were mild, submissive creatures. I sure as hell didn’t expect some crazy woman to jump off a table, screaming like a banshee, leap onto my back and start hacking at me with a broken bottle!” He knew when he was being teased. “Anyway, I got through it and I learned not to turn my back on a man or women in the future.”

“And this one?” Raoul touched a thin round scar on Katze’s fore arm.

“I walked into a door,” the red-head returned sourly. “Come on, are we going to play connect the dots with all my battle wounds? It’s not like anyone sees my body, so it shouldn’t matter what it looks like.”

“Does Iason know about all these instances?”

Katze’s eyes flickered down and away. “He knows about the girl with the bottle.” And right afterwards Iason had arranged for Katze to learn how to fight and defend himself.

“But none of the others.”

“He doesn’t need to know.”

“He is your Master! It is his right to know how much danger you are putting yourself in!”

“Wrong! Dead wrong.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Iason is my Master, and he expects me to do the job he has assigned to me, to fulfill the tasks he demands and to acquire the product we need for the business.  Numbers, Raoul. Profit margins, product flow, that’s all Iason needs or wants to know about. How I achieve those profits or whether or not I get a few bumps and bruises does not enter the equation.”

“Now you are the one who is wrong,” Raoul insisted. “I believe that Iason would be very interested in learning how many times you have been injured or courted death since you began this life, and if you do not tell him, then I certainly will!”

“Don’t!” Again, Katze forgot about propriety, about rules and grabbed the arm of a Blondie as Raoul rose. “Raoul, please. Don’t tell Iason.”

“Katze.” Raoul would have sighed if he had the breathing ability to do so, and settled back on the bed. “You belong to him and beyond that he cares for you. He would not have trusted you with such tasks if he did not. He needs to know what you have suffered for him.”

“Why?” Katze pulled his hand back, forced himself to relax against the large, fluffy pillow and closed his eyes. “Hmmm, is this bed and pillow made with real clouds?”

“What?”

“It’s really soft.”

Raoul scowled. “I have no idea what they are made of and stop trying to change the subject.”

Katze opened his eyes again, resigned. “Iason has more important things to worry about than whether or not I get roughed up occasionally, and I can promise you it is only very occasionally. I can hold my own in a fight.”

“You did not do so well in this instance.”

“There were extenuating circumstances and even I can’t win them all.”

“Iason is being unreasonable if he expects you to continuously put yourself in harm’s way.”

Katze simply stared at Raoul. How could an Elite, a Blondie, be so naive? It pissed him off that he had to defend himself, but his voice remained neutral. “What is it you think I do, Raoul? Do you even know what my job is? What Iason uses me for?”

“Yes, you deal in the import and export of illegal or hard to find products. I am not a fool, Katze. Of course I understand what you do.”

No, Katze thought, not naive, just untouched by the darkness, the evil and the filth that ran through the underbelly of Amoï. He had been that way too, once, before he’d been promoted from being Iason’s Furniture. How much could he tell? How much should he reveal of his life in the shadows?  Would it be proper to taint Raoul with such knowledge? Would it even matter to a Blondie who was so far above all of that?

“What are you thinking? Tell me.”

Katze cleared his throat, more to stall than because it was dry. “Could I have some water?”

“Yes, you may.”  Raoul remained on the bed and turned his head. “Peter?”

A moment, and it really was just a moment so the Furniture had to be waiting outside the door for his Master’s call, Peter stepped into the room. Katze smiled because he remembered those days well.

“Bring a pitcher of water and a glass,” Raoul ordered.

“Right away, Sir.”

Peter hurried off to fulfill the request and Raoul turned his attention back to Katze.

“Now, tell me what you were just thinking about.”

“I did. I was thinking I was thirsty.”

“Need I remind you of the penalty of lying to a Blondie, even when you are no longer Furniture?”

Katze merely continued to smile.  “I’m not lying. I am thirsty.”

“Explain why you seem to be under the impression that I do not understand your work.”

“Why would you understand it, Raoul? It’s not something a Blondie needs to worry about, or think about.”

“Whether it is for me to think about or not is besides the point. I will know your meaning and you will tell me.”

Peter appeared, poor kid must have run down the stairs and back up again, with a tray that held a clear pitcher of fresh water and a crystal glass. He set it on the end table by the bed.

“Will there be anything else, Sir?”

“No.”

Raoul waved his hand, already dismissing the Furniture since his focus was on the half naked Human in his bed. In his bed, he thought as a random vision of how Katze might look completely naked, lying spread eagle across the mattress, his body caked with a delicious coating of sweat as he fingered himself and...

Katze’s eyebrow rose as the Blondie shrugged his shoulders suddenly, as if warding off a chill; which was impossible because Elites weren’t affected by temperature changes.

“Raoul?”

Raoul’s eyes turned ice cold as they focused on Katze, and it was his turn to shiver, but then they returned to the normal curious green that Katze was used to.

“Explain yourself. I will not ask again.”

Katze reached for the water pitcher but Raoul grabbed it up, poured the water into the glass and handed it to him. He felt bad putting the Blondie in the position of tending to him, but he swallowed down some much-needed water, then braced the half full glass on his lap.

“I do deal in the buying, selling or trade of banned products,” he agreed quietly. “But I also deal in services.”

“Services?”

“Yes. Certain people like certain types of services that they can’t get anywhere else.”

Raoul stared blankly at him.

Okay, so he was going to have to spell it out. It probably wouldn’t mean much to a Blondie who kept children as pets and Furniture, but it was still not something that Katze bragged about or openly admitted to. 

“Sometimes the products are of the flesh variety. Sometimes animal. Sometimes it’s not a woman or a man or a child they want, but a certain deed done. Assassinations. Murder. Theft. Physical harm.”

“You assassinate people?” Raoul asked, confused.

“Not me personally, no, but I have the contacts for the people who request that service and arrange for it to be done by those who offer it. I’m an impartial and invisable go between so there can be no link to either side. Do you understand?”

“And you trade in people as well?”

“Again, not me personally, but I have contacts who offer a specific service and when someone wants to buy that service, I arrange it.”

“I see.” Raoul considered. “I have no issue with any of that, as I am sure you garner a good profit from it. It does not clarify why you deliberately put yourself in danger so often?”

Katze tried not to sigh and instead sipped more water. He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. “I don’t ever _deliberately_ put myself in danger, Raoul. Not purposely, but because the people I deal with are degenerative, amoral freaks who would cut off your head as soon as look at you, it’s sometimes a consequence of dealing with them.”

“Why not stop dealing with them?”

“Someone has to. If I don’t someone else will.” Then they would get the power and the profit and Iason would be supremely pissed.  “Supply and demand keeps the universe going.”

“Yes, I see your point.” Raoul nodded in agreement. “However, you should not keep such things from Iason. Lying by omission is still lying and he will be furious if finds out.”

“I think you’re overestimating his concern, Raoul. Iason is a businessman and a Blondie. He is the leader of the Syndicate and the favoured son of Jupiter. He has too much on his plate, including an often-disobedient mongrel pet, to be worried about whether or not his former furniture is getting home safe every night.”

“Do you presume to know more about Iason than I, his own brother?”

Ooops!  Katze not only walked into that trap, he jumped balls deep into it; that is, if he had any balls, which he didn’t.

He took another, long sip of water so he could properly form the answer in his head before verbalizing it and digging himself any deeper. “I’m merely suggesting that bothering Iason with such a minor issue would be a waste of your resources and time. It won’t change how I do business or who I do business with and it would only give Iason more to worry about.”

He didn’t think Iason would be worried about him at all, but Raoul seemed unwilling to accept that.

“Your reasoning is flawed. You do not belong to me, or work for me, yet I am concerned for you. I was worried to learn that you were injured.”

“That’s because you like me.”

“I beg your pardon?” Raoul said for a second time.

Katze lifted his glass to his lips again, realized that it was empty and started to reach for the pitcher, then thought better of it when his side started to throb. “You don’t like me?” he asked and smiled gratefully when Raoul refilled his glass.

“I...” Raoul was speechless, truly speechless. What was happening? His brain seemed incapable of finding the appropriate answer. “I had not given any thought to it.”

“Oh.” Katze pretended to frown, then sighed unhappily and stared into his drink. “Okay.”

“That is not to say that my thoughts are negative in this matter,” Raoul returned quickly, fully aware that the Human was manipulating him but finding he did not like that kicked-puppy expression Katze was wearing. “I merely had not considered it. I enjoy your company and you are a remarkably witty conversationalist. As we both like to eat it is preferable that we do so together and...”

“I like you too, Raoul.”

Again, the Blondie was struck dumb and Katze had to chew on his lower lip to keep from laughing.  Turning a conversation away from himself and onto someone else was one of his best skills, though he never thought it would work on a Blondie.

“Yes. Well.” Raoul rose, straightened the sheets that covered Katze’s lower half with a smart, firm tug, smoothing out the wrinkles. “The doctor assured me that patch will assist your healing process. You should leave it on for forty-eight hours, then you may use a healing wand to avoid scarring.”

“Are you kicking me out?”

“No. You may stay here and rest, for now. I will take you home whenever you are ready.”

“Thanks.” Katze cheekily toasted him with his water glass. “You’re too kind.”

Raoul stared at him. “What is the Apothecary?”

“Where did you hear that term?”

“You used it during your call. You said to take someone there.”

Had he? Things actually were a little blurry from the restaurant, so technically he hadn’t completely lied to Raoul about that. If he did mention that place, he probably needed to get in contact with his men. “It’s a shop on Midas,” he replied. “They sell natural herbs and remedies and things to tourists.”

“Why would you have someone who tried to kill you taken there?”

“Well, because underneath the shop is a cellar outfitted with a, shall we say, unique set of devices.”

Raoul had underestimated Katze. He had assumed that the man was too Human to be truly cold and calculating, as he and Iason were; as most Blondies were. Perhaps he had been wrong, and something about that intrigued, even excited him.

“I see. You said you would meet them there. Will they wait for you?”

Wait to begin the torture is what Raoul was really asking, Katze could see it in the Blondie’s eyes. “Of course. I always handle such things directly. ” It was bad for business and his reputation to allow others to handle it.

Another strange thrill sparked in Raoul’s organic brain.  He’d tortured his share of Humans, and other species as well, all in the name of science of course, and yet he was insanely curious about the idea of watching Katze perform similar acts. He wanted he realized, to see the black-market dealer in that rare position of power and domination.

“I will accompany you there.”

Katze blinked, frowned. “That is no place for you, Raoul.”

“Do you dare deny me after I have saved your life and put up with your insults?”

“What insults?”

“You made me wait! You lied to me. You put your hands on me and threatened me and you have caused me great worry and inconvenience!”

“I apologized for all of that!”

“It is not enough. I will accompany you to this place and see what you do there.”

“I suspect you already know what I am going to do there, Raoul.”

“Yes.”

“Then why would you want to go?”

“My reasons do not concern you. Now, I will have Peter make us something to eat, as we both missed dinner because you were busy bleeding all over the floor.”

Katze stared, dumbfounded as Raoul walked out, closed the door behind him, then grinned like an idiot. “Well, fuck me sideways.” He finished off his glass of water, set it on the bedside table then slid down beneath the silken covers and closed his tired eyes. “So the mad scientist has a fetish does he?” His smile widened, then slowly faded as he drifted off to sleep.

 

 


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raoul visits Katze at work.  
> \------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katze in this story is turning out to be a much more complicated and darker character than what most are used to, but that seems to be the intent of the story. Experience has taught me not to fight against that intent, after all I am just the conduit, so I hope you will still enjoy.  
> \---------------------------------

Katze rubbed at the headache that throbbed between his eyes as he entered the last set of figures in his books for that month. Iason would review them during their monthly meeting, assuming that Iason didn’t reschedule it again.

While Katze excelled at math, sometimes even enjoyed it, he had to keep two books for their Black Market dealings, and sometimes it was just a pain in the ass keeping the figures straight for both. The first book, which was their actual incoming and outgoing were easy, it was the legitimate books for the United Planets for Trade Coalition that could be chaotic. It wasn’t difficult, but it often gave him a headache balancing and then re-balancing the numbers to suit both purposes.

On the upside, now that he had Riki back working for him, profits were up. Riki was a good runner, though it was a pain that Iason had set boundaries for the mongrel on where he could go in the area. Riki kicked about it, but not a lot and still did the work. He doubted the mongrel would ever understand how good he had it. Iason had even set the pet up in his own apartment in Apathia because Riki claimed he was suffocating in Ceres. Riki would never understand how much Iason had risked and sacrificed to keep him because Riki still had his head in Ceres and couldn’t stop thinking about himself and his freedom. It was annoying.

Katze hoped Riki would start thinking differently now, since he’d seen those two pets that had been reassigned to work on the docks because they had outgrown the interest of their Masters. Riki had been shocked at seeing one particular pet, who had once slapped him because it was an Academy bred pet and therefore believed himself above the likes of a mongrel like Riki, being abused and threatened as a dock worker.

Katze had explained what happened to pets if they did not or could not properly adapt to manual labour after dismissed by their masters. He’d seen pity in Riki’s eyes then. No one wanted to be whored out to any and all who paid to fuck them, with no choice, no rest and no benefits to the whores. And certainly no one, not even a genetically engineered pet who had no rights to speak of, wanted to be set for disposal. He hoped it gave Riki something to think about so that the prideful mongrel might start to curb his baser instincts and reconsider some of his behaviour.

Saving his data, Katze sent it to his personal tablet, then stretched in his chair. He needed coffee and as if in answer to his prayer the scent of a freshly brewed cup wafted towards him.

“Sheila,” he sighed as the tall, golden-skinned woman strolled towards him with a steaming mug in one hand a plated sandwich in the other. “There are times when I really wish I could bed you.”

The woman smiled as she set both items on his desk, then perched on the edge of his chair and ran her fingers through his spiked red hair. “You and me both, handsome.”

Shiela was the name that had been given to her by her former master, as it was difficult for most species to pronounce her given name; which was twenty eight syllables long. She had been born and reared on a slave planet in the Delta Four system, and had been sold into the sex trade when she was nine. She’d had three masters during that time, not including her current one, which was Iason Mink.

The Blondie had won her from her former master in a card game on Taruns Skyp, gambling was the way business was conducted on that planet, but the Blondie had no use for a female pleasure slave as he already had a male pet that he was training. Assuming she would be sold once again, Shiela was shocked and pleased when the handsome red-headed black market dealer asked the Blondie if he could use her in his office.

As was his habit, Katze had researched all he could about Iason’s newest acquisition, and had learned, after tracking down her second master, that she had considerable skill in administration, which her second master had used to help him run his business, until he was killed and she was put back on the market again. Katze needed someone discrete and who he could trust to work closely with him. As Furniture he understood the rules of slave and master, and so, it seemed, did Shiela, so he felt she was the best choice.

Shiela had been thrilled to be given real work to do again, instead of only being used for pleasure, and so she strived to anticipate Katze’s every need, in order to retain her position. Plus, she liked Katze. He could be a hard taskmaster, and many feared him, but with her he was always sweet, always gracious. He never flew into a rage and started beating her. He didn’t belittle her existence, or trade her out for the night to multiple men, or insist she walk around naked, regardless of how low the temperature was in a room.

In fact, she had never even seen Katze angry, nor flustered nor ridiculously amused. He was calm and collected almost all of the time and had she not been trained to pay attention to her master’s needs and possible desires, she would probably never have seen the sly side of him, or the funny side, or the compassionate side that most overlooked.

“Did that shipment of Gren Mines come in?”

“Yesterday,” she stated. “I’ve already had them separated and shipped out to the client. The file is in on your data pad.”

“Perfect.” Katze took a bite of his sandwich. “We need to cut off their supply after this last one.” He took a sip of coffee, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes as she rose and massaged his scalp with her fingers. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You have a headache, and I like doing it.” She dropped her face close to his, whispered in his ear. “Do you want me to stop?”

“If you do, I may cry.”

“Admit it. This is really why you keep me around.”

“Nope. I keep you around because you make a damn good cup of coffee.”

She smiled, straightened and continued her massage to his temples. He would never tell her the truth, the real reason he took a chance on her, but she would accept that about him as well. Katze dealt in lies so it had to be difficult to stop telling them.

“You were saying about the client?”

“You expect me to think while you’re doing that?” She laughed, as he had intended. “We’re cutting them off. Their last shipment was four short.”

“I did notice that. The shipment before that was short two mines as well.”

“Exactly.” In the black market business everyone tested their supplier or dealer, it was expected. Once was a test, possibly even a mistake. Twice was a deliberate attempt to steal or circumvent a deal.

“Should we put the word out?”

Katze opened his eyes, stared at his computer screen in consideration. There were three ways to deal with this sort of supplier. One, you cut off any further trade and refuse any more deals, this included all associated arms of your organization. It was a slap on the hand really, because there were other organizations the client could deal with.

The second option put a little more hurt on the supplier by spreading the word they welshed on a deal, which was basically professional death for any businessman. It damaged their reliability and trust factor and would leave them with little options to purchase or move goods out of the sector, but, if they were smart, they could get new papers and new ID’s and start up again somewhere else in the system.

The third option was the combination of both options, plus a tip off to the UFPTC, which would cause the authorities to investigate and if the supplier was caught red-handed with illegal goods they could be sentenced to a penile colony for five to ten years.

“Put it out, code three.”

Shiela’s hands stilled. “Code three?”

Katze tilted his head to look up at her. “Did I stutter?”

His tone held a mild question, but Shiela knew this man well enough to understand that as nice as he was to her, she really could have no opinion when it came to his orders.

“No. I’ll advise on code three, if you feel it is warranted.”

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.” Katze sat up, away from her probing fingers. “He pissed me off by trying it twice, and doubling the number missing. So, he pays.”

She nodded. Pissing Katze off was the worst thing a dealer or supplier could do. He was generally congenial and fair to everyone, well, as fair as anyone working on the black-market could be, but if you crossed him he became your worst enemy.

“I understand. I will take care of it.”

“Take care of what?”

They both turned towards the doorway just as a tall Blondie walked into the office.

“Your reception area was empty, Katze, so I let myself in.”

“I don’t have a reception area, Lord Am,” Katze returned as he rose from the chair, addressing him formally in front of Shiela and knowing full well that the Elite had circumvented his security system. He’d have to do an upgrade later. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Raoul’s gaze flickered over Sheila, who wore dark, tailored slacks, a thin pink blouse with a dark vest over it, and thigh high boots. “Am I interrupting?”

“Would it matter?” Katze tilted his head slightly towards the woman. “Go take care of that issue and then go home.”

“Certainly,” she said and paused to nod at Raoul on her way out. “Please excuse me, my lord.”

Raoul waved her off, watched her for a moment, then turned back to Katze. “Is that the one Iason won in a card game?”

“She is.” Katze rose out of politeness.

“She’s dressed quite well for a pleasure slave.”

“She works in the office but often has to go to the warehouses. I can’t have her running around half naked down there; no one will get anything done.”

“Not even you?” Raoul waved at the desk chair, giving Katze permission to resume his seat.

“Especially not me, as I’d be the one trying to haul all the guys off her.” Katze sat and tapped a few keys on his computer when it signalled an incoming message and quickly read it, then replied.

He had not seen or heard from the Blondie for several weeks, ever since Raoul and accompanied him to the Apothecary and watched him deal with the men who had been chasing him during their last dinner engagement.

Katze had refused to stay in bed and rest after he had been wounded, and so Raoul had agreed to take him to his destination. There, Katze did what he had to do to ensure that such a thing would not happen again. He had only been working the two men over for about an hour when he received a communication from the head of the supply group they worked for, transferred in from Shiela as few people had Katze’s direct code. The supplier threatened to destroy Katze and everyone who worked for him, if his men were not returned immediately.

Katze had readily agreed to return one of the men and had a robo courier deliver the poor soul back to their leader, in pieces. The second communication came shortly after the supplier received the package and the tone then was very different.

The supplier apologized for his men attacking Katze, assured Katze it would never happen again and even offered to include additional product, free of charge. Katze understood why the supplier had given in so easily, the man that Katze had kept with him was the supplier’s young lover. He had deliberately sent the other one back to show what would happen if the supplier continued his threats and bravado.

Katze again agreed to the terms, but of course he could not allow his prisoner to simply walk away, the man might get it in his head that he could come back at Katze another time, and so he made sure that the lover was returned alive, but no longer able to walk; at least without extensive surgery and therapy.

During all this, Raoul had remained, silent and hidden behind the lights that they had kept shinning on the two captives. Katze had told the Blondie he could be neither seen nor heard during the interrogation, because it might tarnish his reputation to be associated with such things. Raoul had kept his word, except for the one time when he had silently reached out and pulled Katze into the shadows with him, quietly insisting he check Katze’s wound.

Other than that, they had not spoken, not even when it was over and the last man was sent back to his boss. Raoul wished Katze a firm goodbye and that had been the last he had heard from the elite, until now. He had assumed that the Blondie had been sickened or disappointed by his methods and so had stayed away. Now he wasn’t sure what to think.

Finally, Katze picked up his coffee and swivelled back to look at Raoul. “What can I do for you, Raoul?”

Raoul wanted to run his fingers through the man’s hair, as he had seen the woman doing, and that urge confused him. He could not deny that as he looked at Katze now he immediately recalled seeing the Human deliver swift brutality to two other men, and acknowledged that the entire episode had both impressed and aroused him on some level.

“I’d like to invite you to dinner, since the last one was interrupted.”

That was a surprise, given what happened at their last one. “Why don’t you ask Iason?”

“I did, but he is taking his pet on some kind of excursion for the weekend.”

“Ah.” Katze knew that meant that Iason was spending the weekend in Apathia at Riki’s apartment. He finished off his coffee and set the mug back on his desk. He didn’t ask why Raoul didn’t ask one of his other brothers to dinner because he had seen how the Blondie was treated by his kin.

“I’d like to Raoul,” he replied carefully. “But I have a lot of work to do.”

“Two hours will surely not matter so much?”

Katze’s task menu appeared in his mind as he calculated what was left for him to do on today’s agenda. Really, he couldn’t afford to cut out early, not if he planned to sleep sometime tonight. Still, Raoul had come through for him with those canisters, and had helped him out after he was hurt. The Blondie did not seem to harbour any ill will toward him after seeing how Katze meted out punishment, and he _had_ said they could go out occasionally, he had just not expected the Elite to seek him out so often. Was Raoul lonely or just bored?

“Yeah, okay. I suppose I can take two hours down.” He locked his computer, grabbed his data pad, his personal comlink and snatched his blue and black jacket off the hook behind the door.

In the outer office, Shiela was speaking into her headset while her fingers flew over the keys of her console. He held up two fingers to indicate he’d be back in two hours and then wiggled his hand and jerked his thumb towards the door, meaning he wanted her to leave the details on his desk and then cut out for the day. She nodded at him as she continued to speak to the person at the other end of her headset.

“She seems competent enough,” Raoul mused as they took the elevator down to the parking garage.

“She works hard and takes a lot off my plate.” Katze headed for his vehicle, but Raoul caught his wrist.

“We’ll take mine.”

“Oh, okay.” He supposed he could just call for a pay car to bring him back later. When Raoul opened the passenger side door for him, he raised an eyebrow, but slid in. “Thanks.”

Raoul walked around the vehicle, climbed into the driver’s side.

“Is this place fancy, because I’m not really dressed for somewhere fancy.”

  
“It will not matter.” Raoul was a Blondie, they would not dare refuse him or his guest entry. “What is that scent you are wearing?”

“Scent?” This time both Katze’s eyebrows flew up. “I’m not wearing anything.” He sniffed at his hands, his jacket. He couldn’t smell anything.

“It smells soft, flowery, but not overwhelmingly so.”

“Oh!” Katze chuckled. “We got a case of Venisian face powder in today and one of the boxes exploded during shipment. When we opened the skid it got all over everybody. I guess I didn’t wash it off well enough.”

“It’s nice. I rather like it.”

“Well, don’t get used to it. I’m not in need of a youthful complexion so I won’t be using it.”

“No.” Raoul glanced at the human beside him, before turning his attention back to the road.

It had been almost three weeks since Katze had been injured and not a day had gone by when Raoul hadn’t thought, for at least a moment, to contact him. It was illogical, this feeling he had, and so he put it off and tried to dismiss it. Katze had work as did he and it would not do to come across as needy.

The last few days, however, had been very frustrating and stressful for Raoul and he knew he had to get away from his lab, at least for a few hours. Katze was the first person he thought of, which was unusual as he usually would have contacted Iason. And because he thought of Katze first, he did contact Iason, just to prove that he was in control of his own thoughts, but as usual the Blondie was busy with his pet and so Katze had once again been forced to accompany him.

Still, he could not deny that he felt lighter and less stressed from the moment Katze agreed to come to dinner. What could that mean, he wondered?

“You’re skin is perfect just as it is,” he decided from their earlier conversation.

Katze did his best to hide his surprise, and his unease. That was an odd thing for a Blondie to say, especially to Furniture. “So, how long has this restaurant been open?”

“Just this week, but it has received excellent reviews already. They serve something called pulled pork, which is in a thick sauce, I believe and deep fried potatoes.”

“Pulled pork? You know that’s pig right? Pork is pig meat.” Most Elites did not eat animal flesh, and preferred to dine on nutritious dishes of plants and vegetables. Though he knew that Iason had tried meat in the past, to accommodate Riki’s tastes, the Blondie was still mostly vegan.

“I am aware. I have had fish once, I even tried your chicken a few weeks ago. Both were interesting, so I thought I might try something new.” Raoul glanced his way again. “Have you tasted pig meat before?”

“Once, a really long time ago when I was on a trip with Iason. The cook of the man we stayed with made something called bacon and eggs for my breakfast one day. I was Furniture and wasn’t used to anyone cooking for me, besides that Iason hadn’t eaten yet so it was against the rules to eat before him, but I did take a small bite of the bacon. I couldn’t handle the thought of the eggs when I learned where they came from.”

“Where do they come from?”

“The asshole of a chicken.”

“Oh, that is disturbing. Yes, I agree, Eggs are off the menu. How was the pig meat?”

“The bacon? Oh man it was...” Katze suddenly remembered who he was talking to and adjusted. “It was delicious, actually. I wanted to eat more of it, but I had to make sure Iason ate first. Then the cook gave me the rest later, it’s was good cold as it was hot.”

“Really? Well, now I’ll have to add that to my meat list. I wonder if Peter knows how to prepare it?”

“It’s not easy to get, there are a lot of sanctions now on the butchery of certain animals, unless you’re a licensed chef or cook for a restaurant. I can try and get you a pound or two if you want to try?”

“Yes, do that. Shall we trade for more canisters, then?”

Raoul had more of those? He didn’t want to ask why. “No. That was a rare request and I don’t think I’ll need them again.” And if he did he still had the third canister in special storage since his dealer only wanted two. “Since you are taking me to dinner, I’ll get you the pig meat for free.”

“Thank you, Katze. That is very generous of you.” Raul shifted into flight mode and they climbed higher, away from the main roadways. ” However, I do not wish to upset your trade goals. Iason will be angry with me.”

“No he won’t, it’s a minor thing and I often trade small products for a personal favour. Iason is aware, it’s all part of doing business really.”

“Excellent, then I shall look forward to the bacon.”

It took just under twenty minutes to reach the satellite city of Midas and receive clearance through the shield. Another ten to locate the new restaurant. Raoul parked outside of it and he and Katze stepped out. Valet parking was offered everywhere in Midas, because the business owners wanted customers to spend their time gambling or fornicating or purchasing, rather than driving around for a parking spot.

The scent of meat and something rich and tangy hit them as soon as they entered the restaurant, which was small compared to most on the satellite city, but was also packed to capacity.

“Looks like they’re full,” Katze said as a man with a stomach as wide as his moustache and barely a strip of blond hair swiped to the side if his head in a very bad comb-over stepped forward to greet them.

“Good day, gentlemen. Good Day. Welcome to Please Pass The Pork. Do you have a reservation?”

“We do not,” Raoul stated as he scanned the area looking for a free table. He had been uncertain if Katze would agree to accompany him and he had not wanted to eat alone, so did not call ahead. “I am Raoul Am, of Tanagura.”

“Of course you are! Of course. Give me one moment and I will seat you!”

As the host hurried back through the dining area, Katze looked up at Raoul. “They’re full. Let’s go somewhere else.”

“We will eat here. It smells interesting, does it not?”

Katze’s mouth had watered the moment they stepped through the door. “It certainly does.”

He spied the host talking rapidly to a group of people at a table by a gas fireplace. All of them turned their heads towards the entrance way, spotted Raoul and immediately began collecting their coats as a young waiter stepped in to scoop up their plates. Katze had a feeling they would be taking the rest of their food to go.

Sure enough, the host returned, smiled at them. “This way, Lord Am. Right this way. We are so happy to have you at our humble establishment. I will give you our very best table.”

Instead of moving forward, Raoul said. “Is there no where more private we can eat? I prefer not to eat in a crowd.”

The poor host paled for a second, then his smile returned. “Of course! Of course. Perhaps the terrace?”

“Yes, that would be acceptable.”

“Certainly, certainly. If you could wait for just one more moment, Lord, Am?”

“There seems to be little choice but to do so.”

“Ah...yes. Apologizes. Just another moment, I assure you.”

Katze’s lips twitched at how fast the man waddled through the crowded tables and into the kitchen. Seconds later a table and two chairs were being hauled onto the terrace, which was obviously not officially part of the dining room and was there only for the view. It was followed by servers rushing out with silverware, table linens and the like.

“And you say you’re not intimidating,” he murmured aloud. “Those people are petrified.”

“They have reason to be,” Raoul returned just as quietly. “I find I am quite hungry now and running low on patience.”

Katze did not try to argue the fact that they had shown up without a reservation to a fully booked restaurant and that most people would have to wait or go elsewhere, because Blondies weren’t most people.

The host returned, his face flushed and slightly out of breath. “This way, Lord, Am. Follow me, just this way.”

Katze could feel the eyes that followed them through the tables of patrons until they stepped out to the balcony. The two suns had started to set and there was a comfortable breeze on the air. The table had been set up far more elaborately than the ones inside, no doubt with the hope of impressing, or at least pleasing the highly regarded Child of Jupiter.

“I hope this will be to your liking?”

Raoul looked around, then sat as the host held out his chair. “It will do.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you. That is good.” He snapped his fingers and a young waiter appeared with a portable screen menu. “Would you like to hear our specials?”

“No.” Raoul scanned the menu in seconds. “We will have the two pulled pork sandwiches with the fried sweet potatoes and the...” He pointed to the coleslaw. “What is this?”

The host quickly explained what the dish consisted of.

“Yes, two of those as well and...”

“Two beers,” Katze interrupted, since Raoul had taken over. “With a shot of Tequila.”

“Ah, good, very good.” The host smiled broadly and wiped at the perspiration on his brow with a restaurant napkin as the waiter took the menu and hurried off as if eager to be gone.

“Is there anything else you would like, Lord Am? Some music perhaps? An ashtray? Do you smoke?”

“No.”

“Yes,” Katze countered. “I do, so bring one.” He ignored Raoul’s scowl and watched the host bow twice as he backed up.

“I’ll bring it right away for you. Yes, right away.” The host missed two of the four steps on his backwards trot, almost fell on his ass, but caught himself. “Thank you for your patience. I will see to everything right away.” He turned and did a fast waddle towards the kitchen.

Katze could only imagine the chaos that was going on behind the twin steal doors.

“I do not like beer,” Raoul stated. “It is a dirty, mongrel drink.”

“Do you want to trust the wine in a place like this?”

Raoul glanced around, then sat back and crossed one long leg over the other. “Point taken. Are you really going to smoke?”

“I like to smoke after a meal.” Katze lifted his gaze to the Blondie’s. “But I won’t if it will bother you.”

“It will not bother me.”

“Good.” Katze turned his gaze back to the data tablet he had pulled out of his pocket. He’d been gone thirty minutes and he had twenty-two new messages. Sometimes being in charge of a large company was a pain in the ass. He’d answered five of them before Raoul reached across the table and plucked it from his hands.

“Hey!”

“Do you seriously plan to continue being rude to me?”

“I wasn’t being rude, I was...” Well, okay, maybe he was being a little rude by ignoring Raoul and working. He itched for a cigarette, but pushed down the impulse. “Well, what would you prefer I do, Raoul?”

“Talk to me. I wish to have a conversation.”

“Okay. What shall we talk about? Art? Music? Architecture? History?” As Furniture, Katze was very well versed in all those subjects, plus many more.

“You.”

Katze blinked. “Me?”

“Yes. Tell me what you do when you are not working?”

He smirked, sat back and rested his left ankle over his right knee. “I’m _always_ working, Raoul.”

“You intimated before that you occasionally socialize with other people. What sort of things do you do then?”

Caught, Katze let his foot fall to the floor, straightened his shirt as he sat up. “Just like I said, drinks, food, sometimes a show.”

“And afterwards? Do they go home with you?”

Katze’s mouth fell open and it took him several seconds to realize that Raoul was not suggesting he had sex with someone. “Ah...no. They go to their home and I go to mine.”

“What do you do then?”

What in the hell was all this? Katze didn’t like talking about himself, for one it could cause a liability at work. “Um...” He scratched his cheek. “I guess I shower, get undressed and go to bed.”

“What if it is an early date? You have breakfast or lunch?”

“I go back to work.”

“I see.” Raoul paused as the server brought two large mugs of beer and set them on the table. He watched Katze pour his shot tequila into the beer, and did the same with his drink. “What sort of music do you listen to?”

Katze took a long swallow of his drink as he tried to ascertain where this conversation was going and why Raoul was getting so personal. “I’ll listen to pretty much anything.”

“Favourite food?”

“I eat pretty much anything.”

“Except eggs.”

Katze’s lips pursed as he stared into his beer. “Yeah. Except those.”

“Favourite colour?”

“I don’t have one.” Katze looked up. “Why are you asking me all this, Raoul?”

“I read a survey on line that explained the requirement of understanding a Human’s likes and dislikes in order to pursue a solid friendship with one. Also, it said that one should not only talk of oneself, so I am giving you the opportunity to speak on your own behalf.”

Katze was stunned. Raoul Am had researched how to be a friend? What the fuck? “Oh-kay, well, just treat me like you do your other friends, Raoul...”

“I do not have other friends, Katze. Only Iason and we already know almost everything about each other.”

Didn’t have any friends, huh? Yeah, Katze could understand that, hell he could compete with it. He wrapped his hand around his glass and leaned forward. “Sucks, doesn’t it?”

Raoul blinked as he considered the term. “If you mean to say that such a situation is uninviting then yes, I believe it does. Suck that is. Do you dislike the questions, or do you find them invasive in some way?”

“Ah, no. No not really, I’m just not used to being asked those sorts of things. Why don’t we just find out things as we go along, rather than ask everything up front? It’s more natural that way, right?”

“Yes. Yes, I suppose it would be more natural. You may ask me questions if you like, to...what is the term, balance the scales?”

Katze felt he was being tested somehow, so he picked up his beer, sat back and sipped. “Maybe later. Why don’t you tell me how your new acquirement is doing?”

“Oh, the Chupacabra? Not well I am afraid. It is a slow process, and the beast is less than willing so I need to keep it sedated most of the time. However, that gives it less time to feed or perhaps the medication has affected his willingness to do so, therefore learning the blood sucking process has become very time consuming.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yes. Usually I have no issue with controlling an animal, but this one is unique.”

“Why not kill it and dissect it then?”

“It is a rare beast, so I would prefer not to do that at the moment. There is still much knowledge I can glean from it while it is alive.”

“Has it gained any weight from the feedings?”

“Strangely no. Its ribs are still protruding and if I did not know that it was feeding regularly, or semi regularly, I would think it was starving.”

“Maybe it doesn’t want to be fed. Maybe it wants to hunt.”

Raoul considered. “That could be a factor, but there is no where it can hunt from. I cannot allow it out of the lab and into the wilds.”

“Yeah.” Katze thought of the two guys he had sent after the Chupacabra and the scars and injuries both had suffered in catching the animal. “It wouldn’t be easy to catch a second time.”

“Exactly.”

Katze sipped his beer thoughtfully. “What about the old rock quarry?”

“Rock quarry? The one in Dustin sector, from a millennia ago?”

“Yes, that’s it. It has those really high walls around the perimeter that used to keep the workers inside. Nature has pretty much taken back the area, but the walls are still there. Maybe you could release it in there with a transmitter and a tag that emits a sedative once he’s hunted enough for your study. That way once it’s done you can just put it to sleep and carry it out.”

“Do you think it will be properly contained there?”

“The walls are twenty feet high, I doubt the animal can climb or jump out and there’s only one door in or out of the place. Plus, it’s a pretty wide area, so it might not feel like such a cage. Maybe it would inspire it to hunt and you could study it in a sort of natural habitat.”

“Yes. Yes, there must be monitoring set up there as well, I could add more.” Raoul brightened as their food was brought to the table. “That is an excellent idea, Katze. Truly excellent. Do you know who owns the quarry? I will buy it from them.”

“You can use it, the owner won’t mind.”

“Wonderful. However, I should offer them some compensation. If you would just give me their contact information I’ll arrange...”

“There’s really not necessary. They’re happy to do it.”

Raoul studied he man across from him. “Is it Iason? Even if we are brothers, it is only polite to let him know I will be using the quarry, Katze.”

“It’s doesn’t belong to Iason and the owner doesn’t want his name known.” Katze took a sip of his drink. “Just trust me, I’ll smooth it over and you will be able to use it with no problems.”  


“Oh, well, as you say then. Thank you.”

Their food arrived and they both began to eat, agreeing that the tender texture of the pork and the incredible tanginess of the sauce was a good mix. They liked it so much, both had cleaned their plates in less than fifteen minutes.

“That was very good,” Raoul decided as their plates were removed. “I believe we will have to come again.”

Katze rubbed his stomach, he completely overate, but damn it was good. “Fine, but not too soon, I’ll be digesting all this for at least a week.”  


Raoul laughed and nodded at the hovering waiter to bring the bill. “Come to my lab.”

“Hmmm?” Katze was so full and relaxed from the food and the gentle night air he had almost forgotten he was in a restaurant with a Blondie. He straightened in his chair. “Your lab?”

“Yes, I wish to show you Chupacabra.”

“I saw it when it got here.”

“Come see it again, besides I would like to show you around my lab.”

Katze couldn’t deny he was curious. “I really should get back to work.”

“It won’t take more than another hour or so and we finished our meal so quickly, so you still owe me time.”

Katze laughed. “Okay, okay. It’s hard to say no after being fed so well.”

“Just so,” Raoul agreed, pleased.

 


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katze visits Raoul's Lab.  
> \-----------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely lovely comments...I gobbled them all up NOM NOM NOM and got more energy points to write the next chapter. I had a blast with it so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it and oooohhh the feels...there may be some feels there too. As always if you like the story, please leave a comment or review, the Author very much appreciates the stimulation! :-}  
> \-------------------------------------------------

 

Katze stepped out of the elevator with Raoul and entered another world altogether.

An long intimidating hallway stood before them, bordered with transparent containment chambers that housed a variety of strange looking creatures or, in some cases, odd glowing liquids. Were these all specimens that the Blondie used in his experiments, or were they the results of those experiments?

In between the chambers, a movement on the far left wall caught his attention and he realized that the wall was actually a clear transparent tank filled with water. His curiosity overcame his manners and he took a step between the specimen cages to get a better look at the lovely aquatic creature that floated back and forth within the floor to ceiling aquarium.

It moved closer as he did, he suspected it was a female because of the two fairly large, protruding breasts on the chest. She stared at him with silver eyes devoid of colour or pupils or even lids, then darted away. That was when Katze realized that the entire back wall was her part of her prison.

When the creature stopped and looked back at him, he felt a powerful tug on his mind, his body and he felt the strong urge to follow. All the way back to the elevator he tracked her, then saw that the tank rose above the elevator and came down on the other side of the room. He moved with her as she playfully beckoned him to the opposite wall where she reappeared, still within the huge aquarium.

She was so beautiful. So sweet. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to crawl into the tank and swim with her. He needed her. Had to be with her.

“Katze.”

For a moment Katze didn’t respond, and then a firm hand dropped onto his shoulder and, with great difficulty, he tore his gaze away from the mermaid and managed to look up at the green-eyed Blondie. “Huh?”

Raoul found it impossible to look away from the dazed, flushed face of the Human in his arms and the hands that had merely held Katze’s arms now moved to caress him.

“Katze,” he said and was surprised at the tenderness in his own voice. No, not tenderness but desire. Katze was staring up at him with a strange sort of smile on his lips and Raoul wanted to taste those lips. Katze had such full, pretty pink lips. “Katze,” he said again and felt his control slipping.

“Yeah?” Why was his mind so fuzzy? What had he been doing and why was this beautiful, intoxicating being standing so close to him? Did he want a kiss? He might like that, he realized. He might like that very much. “Raoul?”

Katze slid his tongue over his lips and Raoul’s control nearly snapped, but he caught the knowing face of the mermaid out of the corner of his eye and realized he had somehow fallen into her trap; he was usually immune but perhaps his own emotions had opened a crack to her will. He knew that logically he needed to break free, move away from Katze, instead he moved closer so that their lips were only centimetre apart.

Katze could not tear his eyes away from what was about to happen. His heart was thudding painfully in his chest and he had no idea why. “Kiss?” He was trying to ask something but it wasn’t coming out right, his mouth seemed to have no connection to his brain. “Me?”

Raoul’s lips touched Katze’s, a whisper soft caress that was over almost immediately as the Blondie snapped back to his senses. Even as he pulled back, Katze leaned forward and Raoul nearly lost the battle again when this time it was Katze who kissed him. Another feather-light touch that left Raoul deeply aroused and wholly unsatisfied.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the mermaid laugh, a silent mocking gesture and he found his strength, his reason again. He shook Katze, hard.

“Katze! Come to your senses.”

“Who?”

Raoul realized the man would require stronger stimulation and he slapped him, not very hard, he didn’t want to break the Human’s jaw, but hard enough that the pain would register and hopefully wake him from the trance.

Katze blinked several times as a dull pain worked its way from the back of his head around to his temples. “Raoul?” He lifted his hand to his burning cheek, then to his forehead, closed his eyes for a long moment, then opened them again. “What did I...” He began to turn his head toward the wall but Raoul caught his chin and pulled him back.

“Do not look at it again!” Raoul snapped, angry at himself for having lost control, even for a second, as he yanked Katze away from the wall tank and down the corridor again. Initially when he saw Katze following the creature around the room he had been amused, and yes curious to see if a man who was supposed have no ability for desire would still be effected by the sinfully sexual creature. He had his answer, all too well he had it.

“She is a Chimera,” Raoul explained as he kept up a clipped stride and dragged Katze down the corridor. “A Siren Maid of Aquateri. It is said that she leads sailors and any who come close to the water to their deaths.”

Katze rubbed his head. “Yeah, yeah, I remember reading about something like that, but I didn’t realize they were real.”

“Most legends are based in fact.” Raoul released Katze to press a sequence of numbers and letters into a small keypad by a large double archway and the space that appeared vacant sizzled for a moment as the force shield was lowered. “It took me several years to find one, and she is the only one I have ever seen since.”

But, didn’t mermaids, or sirens of the sea or whatever the hell they were prey on a man’s desires? That should be impossible for him, right? Her power shouldn’t have worked on him and why in the name of Jupiter were his lips tingling?

Unwilling to ask any of these questions aloud, he chose a safer route. “Why does my cheek and head hurt?”

“You have a headache? It is a side effect from the siren’s call. I will get you some medication.”

“No, I’m fine. It’s already going awa... Aaawwwwceeeeeeeee!”

Raoul’s irritation was immediately forgotten when the cool-headed black-market dealer, a man he had personally watched torture two other men just a few weeks before, made a high -pitched screech that should be impossible for a man and jumped into his arms, which Raoul extended on reflex.

“Katze?”

Katze didn’t hear the Blondie say his name, didn’t realize he was actually being held up by Raoul or that he was pressed so close to the Blondie’s chest, he’d come out the other side if he pressed any further. His entire focus was on the _huge_ Black spider with silver ribbons crisscrossing its back and ten beady blood-red eyes staring at him menacingly.

“It...I...You...That...”

Raoul found Katze’s flustered reaction and complete lack of communication both curious and endearing as he gazed at the creature before them. “Are you frightened of arachnids, Katze?”

Perhaps it was hearing his name again, or the mild amusement in Raoul’s tone that brought him back to his senses, and Katze finally realized their intimate and very inappropriate position. His feet were actually several feet off the ground as he dangled in the Blondie’s arms.

“Oh Shit!” He scrambled down, but that put him immediately closer to the creature in the tank and he stumbled back against the Blondie’s solid chest once again.

Calling on every copping mechanism he possessed, he worked to slow his heartbeat and get his trembling hands under control as he quickly pushed away from Raoul. Once again, that put him in closer proximity of the spider so he took quickly several steps sideways and in the opposite direction.

“I...No. Of course not.” He straightened his jacket which had bunched up around his ribcage after his attempt to scale a Blondie.

How humiliating! Furniture couldn’t be humiliated, Bull fucking shit! He could feel the heat from his own face and the coil of embarrassment in the very pit of his stomach. Fear was a weakness he couldn’t afford to have in his business.

“It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Knowing it was an outrageous lie, and compelled by the odd feeling of disappointment he experienced when Katze had jumped out of his arms, Raoul could not help but torture the man a little more. “It is a compelling creature, is it not? Computer open specimen tube number...”

Fear erased any sense of propriety or thought of consequence, as Katze realized the Blondie’s intent, lunged forward and slapped his hand over Raoul’s mouth. “Don’t! You. Fucking. _Dare_.”

Raoul’s eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline at the Human’s audacity, but again his curiosity won out so he refrained from shoving Katze away and reprimanding him. And besides, he had been teasing him. “Mhhmhh?”

“What?” Katze asked, his fear over the spider being released was suddenly superseded by the knowledge of his inexcusable breach of etiquette. He snatched his hand away. “I...Forgive me, Lord Am. I’m so incredibly sorry. That was inexcusable.”

“Do you not wish a closer look at the creature then?” Raoul already knew the answer, for he had seen the utter terror in those pale gold eyes that were now lowered in apology.

Was this what Humans called a phobia? He had never known anyone to have experienced such a thing, but he had read about them. If this were anyone else, he would insist on taking the arachnid out of its cage so he could make a proper study of the test subject’s fear. But this was Katze, who had come here as his guest, and while it was difficult to surpass his natural curiosity, he would not subject the Human to such an experiment.

“Not really no.”

“Then you are afraid of it?”

Katze shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, something he usually avoided doing around anyone else because it was a sign of his own discomfort. “I... I am, yes. Please, don’t take it out.” He flinched when he heard a hard slap against the glass behind him because he could tell, even without looking, that the spider had slammed into the glass of its container again trying to get to him.

Witnessing such a reaction on a man who never flinched or fled from anything, Raoul’s expression softened. “It is contained, Katze, You are perfectly safe.”

“That’s what it wants you to think,” Katze muttered as his eyes tracked back to the spider, that, sure enough, was plastered against the glass with its pincers gaping up and down. He shivered involuntarily. “Then you wake up one night, completely trapped in its webbing, as it starts to chewing on you.”

Raoul did not bother to correct Katze’s theory. “It has not managed to escape for the last twelve years; therefore I believe we are safe.” He turned Katze away from the spider and pulled him through the double archway. Normally he would not raise the barrier field while he was inside, but sensing it would make Katze feel better, he coded it in and the archway sizzled once more to show secure.

“Would you like a drink?”

Horribly embarrassed over his behaviour, Katze could only nod and watch as Raoul walked over to a wall, pressed a panel on it and a small mini-bar slid out.

Usually the bar only contained tea and wine, as those were what Raoul consumed when he was working, but he had learned from Iason that Katze favoured a special, rare type of whisky and he had managed to procure a bottle after deciding he would invite the Human to his lab.

He poured two fingers for himself, and four for Katze, believing it would help calm him. Blondies could not get drunk and alcohol had no affect on them other than it had a pleasing taste. But for Humanoids, he had learned it could often sooth frazzled nerves and also work as a pain or stress reliever.

“Here you are.”

“Thanks.” Katze had swallowed half of it before he stopped and blinked at the glass in his hand. “Is this Rumanian Port Whisky?”

“It is.” Raoul smiled, tapped his glass to Katze’s and drank. “I understand it is your favourite.”

Touched by the gesture, Katze searched for something to say. He needed to pull himself together, get back to proper behaviour and speech and avoid any further humiliation. “Thank you, Lord Am. I like it very much.” He took another, smaller sip of the whisky, choosing to savour it now that he knew what it was. “I apologize for my behaviour just now. And for...for lying. I actually do have a fear of spiders. I’m sorry for causing a scene.”

“There is no need for such formality between us, Katze. We have known each other a very long time and such instances, rare as they are, need no apology.” Raoul wandered over to his small seating area, gestured to the opposite chair and Katze sat. “How long have you had this fear?”

Since the cat was out of the bag, and he didn’t want to lie again, Katze sat back, crossed his ankle over his knee. “Since I was young, before I became Furniture.”

“Was it a trauma that caused the phobia? Where you injured by the creatures as an infant perhaps?”

“I don’t know. I have no proper memories from before I became Furniture, just a few tail ends of what might be my past, but without a reference point. I don’t recall a specific trauma, but I’ve always been afraid of them, for as long back as I can remember.”

“Is Iason aware of your issue with them?”

“Yes.”

Katze pushed back his discomfort of talking about his past because he did owe Raoul for manhandling him earlier and he also understood that the Blondie had a natural and sometimes unrivalled curiosity about everything. Much like him in many ways, not that he could ever compare himself to a Child of Jupiter.

“One somehow dared to get inside Iason’s condo the first year I was there.”

Raoul smiled at Katze’s wording. “Foolish creature.”

“Exactly. It crawled across the kitchen counter and I started screaming like someone was tearing my head off or disembowelling me.” Katze smirked as he recalled the scenario that he had not thought of in decades. It was also the first and only time he had ever seen a Blondie run. “Iason came in and there I was curled up in the corner, shaking and screaming in a very unfurniture like way”

“What did Iason do?”

“Well, when I saw him come in looking so angry about the noise I got even more scared, I thought I really was going to have my head ripped off. He grabbed me up, demanded I stop screaming and tell him what was the problem. I could only point at the counter, but the spider wasn’t there anymore.”

“Oh dear. Were you punished?”

Katze nodded. “Not as badly as I feared, a spanking and a harsh scolding, but he didn’t actually rip my head off.”

Raoul chuckled. “He can be fierce when in temper.”

“Yes.” Katze nodded sipped. “The next day, the damn spider was back, this time in the living room while I was dusting. It scared me, bad, but part of me remembered not to scream because of the punishment I had gotten the day before. I slapped my hands over my mouth so I wouldn’t make any noise, but the thing suddenly jumped at me and I stumbled backwards over the coffee table just as Iason came in.”

“Another punishment then?”

Kate shook his head. “No. He spotted it that time, rushed over and squashed it with his boot, just like that.” Katze slapped his hand on his knee. “Dead spider.”

“So then he understood what scared you?”

Katze nodded again as he remembered how Iason had walked over, picked him up off the floor and set him on his feet, going so far to straighten his uniform. Iason then promised not to let any other spiders in the house, had wiped Katze’s tears with a clean handkerchief and told him to go wash his face.

He even remembered that was that first time he had ever had ice cream, which Iason had placed an order for and had insisted he eat a bowl as a treat. Katze believed at the time that it was a kind of apology for punishing him earlier, but he later learned that Iason had a guest coming the next night who enjoyed that particular food and that was the real reason it had been ordered. He learned, over time that a Blondie, especially Iason Mink, never apologized, for anything. But that was okay, because by that one act of killing the spider, Iason had won Katze’s devotion forever.

“Katze?”

Katze looked up, slightly appalled that he had been so lost in his thoughts he forgot where he was and who he was with. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

“What happened after Iason killed the spider?”

“Oh, he had a new air filtration system put in so absolutely no spiders or any other bugs could get into the condo.”

It was rare for any to do so before then, the planet did not have a huge insect population as there was so little natural vegetation, but it had helped relieve Katze’s mind at the time. And he had a similar system set up in his own apartment. He could handle the smaller spiders, he didn’t like them, but he didn’t react as violently as he had with that big one.

“Ah, very sensible.”

Katze took another swallow of whisky, smiled as it smoothly slid down his throat, then suddenly remembered something. “I’ve seen one almost like that before.”

Raoul paused in taking a drink. “Another Mercriliam Spider?”

“I don’t know if it’s the same kind, they all look the same to me, big, ugly and nasty, but it was almost as big as that one you have. The markings were different though. Instead of silver crosses it had blue and white circles on its back.”

Raoul sat forward suddenly. “Where did you see this creature? Was it alive?”

Startled by the Blondie’s sudden interest, Katze searched his memory. “A casino, I think.” He tilted his head as if to jostle his memory. “Yes, I think it was at a casino on Midas. A guy had one in a containment cube, kept it on the table with him while he played Mahjong. I didn’t get close because, well, big freaking spider, but I remember overhearing him say it was his lucky charm or something. It must have been because he pulled in the full pot that night.”

“Did you get his name, Katze? Could you find him again, see if he still has the arachnid? I would be willing to purchase it from him.”

“I don’t know who he was, sorry. I wouldn’t have even remembered him except for the seeing that thing now. I actually avoided him the rest of the night because of it, but I’m sure you can buy one at any...”

“No, I cannot!”

Katze looked up as Raoul rose, started to pace. “The Mercriliam Spider is extremely rare, Katze. Very elusive. They were hunted nearly to extinction because of their medicinal properties.”

“Medicinal properties?”

“Yes. Their eyes, fangs and venom can all be used in tonics to assist against aging, improve skin elasticity and in some cases skin regeneration in certain species, including Humans.”

Katze shivered at the idea of swallowing any medicine that contained spider parts just to avoid a few wrinkles. Humans were crazy! “Can I just say, yuck,” he commented as he set down his drink.

“Katze!” Raoul stopped and suddenly yanked Katze up out of the chair, keeping hold of him by the shoulders. “You must find this creature for me. “I searched for half a century before I found the one I have, but it is a male and cannot produce offspring. The one you described sounds very much like the female of the species. If I could procure it I could breed them!”

“But, you’re a Blondie! You’re already beautiful and you don’t age!”

Raoul was startled out of his fixation by Katze’s words and felt delight fill him. “You think I am beautiful?”

“What do you mean do I think...You’re a Blondie, Raoul. There is nothing, no being more beautiful.”

“Oh.” So it was just by nature of his creation that Katze believed these things? In that case, one Blondie was as good as another. For some reason, that comparison irritated him. “I see.”

When his hands dropped away, Katze sensed he had said something to offend Raoul. “I mean, people say you all look alike but I can always see the differences and next to Iason, you’re the most attractive Blondie I know.” He searched Raoul’s face for a sign he had been forgiven.

“Really?” The pleasure had returned and was evident in Raoul’s expression. “I agree that there is no one more aesthetically pleasing than Iason, of course, but I am delighted that you believe me almost as lovely.”

So, Blondie’s enjoyed flattery? Who knew? Iason always seemed to get irritated by it, but then it was always a superficial compliment by someone wanting to impress him, so Katze could see why that could get annoying.

“You were saying about the spider?”

“Hmmm? Oh, yes. I need that spider, Katze.”

“For skin products?”

“Oh no. No! Nothing so nonsensical. It’s their webbing I am interested in.”

“The webbing?”  


“Yes! You see, I have learned that the webbing these creatures produce contains trace amounts of mercury and copper.”

Katze stared blankly up at him. “Oh...kay.”

Raoul caught his shoulders again. “It acts as a conductor, Katze. If I can produce enough of the webbing I may be able to formulate it so that it can replace standard electrical wiring.”

Electrical wiring spider webs? Katze immediately had a vision of thousands of spiders running between the walls of his house , his computers, his game consoles. He shivered again the shrugged it off because he understood that was not what Raoul was suggesting.

Katze properly considered the idea and what it could mean for the Amoi, which was already on the cutting edge of technology. Despite so many things that could be commanded by voice or the sweep of a hand, or that radio waves carried the ability for communications, transmissions and transference anywhere on planet and even off, somewhere there still had to be a system set up with actual wiring to do all of that. That wiring was costly and at some point deteriorated or could be damaged or sabotaged and therefore had to be replaced often.

He slowly sat down, rubbed his lower lip. He didn’t realize that Raoul was interested in this kind of experimentation. He had assumed, as everyone else had and based on the rumors that the Blondie was only interested in genetic advancement or mutation.

“Spider webbing is really strong, right? Or supposed to be.”

“Yes, exactly!” Raoul pulled his chair over so that he could sit facing Katze, close enough that their knees almost touched. “If I can harness the conductivity of it, it would never deteriorate, never corrode.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Katze felt himself get excited at the possibly of a new product and the incredible profit that could be made from indestructible wiring. He looked at Raoul suddenly. “But wait, doesn’t spider webbing wear out after awhile?”

“Not necessarily. Most times it can hang there for years, unless intervention by an outside source.”

Katze thought of how it was a natural act to brush away cobwebs when they were seen somewhere., so really, there was no way to know how long they would last on their own. “You’d have to make sure of it, Investors and consumers would insist on that and there would have to be a way to solidify it and keep it solid on a permanent basis.”

“It’s possible. We could use a consculibale compound, to adapt it to different environments.”

“And a resin string, to enhance the strength, maybe on the outside of the webbing somehow so the actual web itself is contained within the string, preventing it from being cut by a blade or laser.”

“An excellent security precaution, perfect for access and alarm systems or any high security maintenance area!”

“This could work! This could actually work. Raoul, you could set any price and people would pay it!”

Raoul laughed, thrilled to have someone, _anyone_ , finally understand and see things how he saw them, and all without ridicule or judgement. “Oh Katze!” He grabbed Katze’s face between his gloved hands and kissed him, full on the mouth, startling them both enough that when he pulled back they could only stare at each other, stunned.

“What...?” Katze began and was alarmed that shock had driven his voice to a whisper.

“Katze...” Something was happening to him, Raoul realized. He wanted another taste, another touch of this human. He started to dip his head again but it was Katze who snapped back in his chair, breaking the Blondie’s hold on his face.

The silence between them grew into an awkward umbrella that fell like a cloak around them, until Katze finally found his voice again. “Um...So...the spider...thing.”

“Yes.” Raoul clamped down on the rush of desire that flooded through him and flicked off the sting of anger at Katze’s rejection. “Yes, we will need to find the female of the breed.”

Having gotten caught up in Raoul’s enthusiasm, way too caught up given that the Blondie just fucking _kissed_ him, Katze had forgotten about the real dilemma. He really, really did not want to go hunting a huge spider. He just finished finding a mythical blood sucking dog for Jupiter’s sake!

“I really don’t remember that man’s name, Raoul.” Katze rubbed suddenly damp hands across his knees. “I don’t know if he was a regular at the casino or if he only visited the one time.”

“You must try. There must be someone you can speak to? Travel logs you can search. Please, Katze. Think of the possibilities if we had more of them!”

Katze rose suddenly as fear crawled up his chest, mixed with the uncertainly of what just happened between them. He felt a little nauseous, actually. “I don’t want more! I don’t want any! And what’s this we bit? This is your deal, Raoul, not mine!”

Raoul also rose. “I understand you are afraid, Katze. I respect that, but I had hoped that you might work on this with me. It is rare for me to have a partner in my experiments, but you had such good ideas just now. I believe we could do great things together, if we had more of the creatures.”

Katze released a heavy breath, turned to look at the equipment at the other side of the room as he ran the other through his disordered hair. And damn it why the hell were his lips tingling again? “I don’t know.”

It would be an incredible step forward in technology if Raoul succeeded with the project, he thought. They could manufacture the web-wiring right here on Amoi, which would give Raoul complete control over the product and the profit. It was entirely possible he would bring Iason in as an investor and even if he didn’t, Katze could probably wrangle a really good deal that would ensure Iason, and thus he, was the main supplier for it. There was nothing, absolutely nothing like it on the current market, legal or underground. Amoi would be the first. It would be worth a fortune, and a fortune to a Blondie was a whole lotta money.

And why in the name of all that was wretched and rotten had Raoul kissed him? What could possibly have possessed him to...He suddenly remembered something from the corridor. After he had seen the mermaid, after Raoul had snapped him out of whatever trance the creature had put him in...no before. Before he had come to his senses...

He spun around to face Raoul, livid. “Why did you kiss me?” Twice! The Blondie bastard had kissed him twice!

Raoul was startled by the sudden attack but found he had no answer for Katze’s question, so he replied as honestly as he could. “I do not know.”

“What does that mean? You’re a Blondie! Blondie’s don’t do anything without a reason! You have to know!”

“I am still theorizing the reasons, however I have come to no conclusions as yet.”

Katze had not expected Raoul to admit to something like that. “So...you really don’t know?”

“I really do not. I can surmise, guess as it were, but I cannot guarantee that my guess would be accurate.” Raoul stepped forward, since the subject had been broached. “Did you like it or hate it? The kiss.”

“I...I don’t know, either. Maybe. No.” Katze shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t...I mean you can’t do that again, Raoul. You know what I am and what I’m...not.” His words were not coming out in same order as they formed in his mind. “I mean...what I mean is I’m not a pet. You don’t get to play with me.”

“I have no intention of doing that, Katze, truly. I have too much respect for you to treat you in that manner.”

Katze tried to ignore the thrill it gave him to hear Raoul say he respected him. “Well...well, I respect you, as well, but you can’t, absolutely cannot do that again. Kiss me again. You can’t kiss me and...and I can’t kiss you. Never. Ever. Okay?” Sweet Jupiter he was talking like a drunk three year old! Why was he getting so flustered over a stupid three second kiss? Okay, two stupid three second kisses, but still...they were nice kisses, really. Not stupid at all and...NO! No! No! No!

“Katze?” Raoul took another step closer because it seemed that the Human was in some sort of physical distress.

“No. I mean, yes. What?”

“If you truly cannot bring yourself to help me locate the female, I will understand,” Raoul replied, deciding to get back to their original conversation as the one they were currently having was befuddling. He did not fully understand Katze’s fear of arachnids, having no frame of reference as Blondies feared nothing, but he would not be complacent in allowing Katze to suffer unnecessarily. “Perhaps if you could simply find more information on the man with the female and I will hire someone else to...”

“Hey!” Katze glared up at him angry at becoming flustered and annoyed to suddenly have lost his hand in. “You...you can’t back out of a deal during negotiations!”

“I’m only thinking of you, Katze. I would not wish you...”

“Just...Just give me a minute here. Let me think.”

He could not, would not pass up something this prime, this sweet. If he did, he’d never be able to face Iason or Raoul again. He needed to get over the whole kissing thing. Put it behind him. Raoul said he wouldn’t do it again, hadn’t he? Well, whatever, Katze would make sure it didn’t happen again so that was it. Wrap it, seal it, put it in a box marked done.

For the other issue, he’d have to find a picture of the female Mercriliam Spider, to ensure that the one that guy had is the real deal. And if it was as rare as Raoul said, he couldn’t take the chance with his regular runners. That meant he would have to personally collect the thing and transport it. Which also meant having to be near the spider, be in a confined space with it and possibly even having, at some point, to touch it. He pushed back another shiver and chanted _profit_ _margin_ over and over in his head, shaking away the fear.

Finally, he turned back, pulled out his data pad. “I’ll do it. I’ll find the guy and get the spider.” He started punching in the details of their new contract. “If it’s the real deal, how high should I go on the price?”

Raoul’s eyebrow rose again as he studied Katze’s determination. Yes, Iason made a very good choice with this Human. “Twenty million, if you need higher, contact me first.”

Katze nodded and added that detail in. He would lowball the price, as he did for Iason, but it was always good to get a cut off amount. “I can’t give you a time frame because I have no idea who this guy is or where to find him, but I’ll try to find out as much as I can as soon as I can.”

“That is acceptable, and if you need any assistance please contact Peter. He is very good at outsourcing as well.”

“Thanks, but I have my own people.” Katze quickly reviewed the contract, then handed it to Raoul, expecting him to simply add his signature, code. He was surprised when the Blondie moved his finger over the pad, not to sign but to review what Katze had written. “I wouldn’t cheat you, Raoul. Everything is just as we said.”

“Oh, I trust you completely, Katze, but I see here that you have added an option that Iason be the first to invest in the project.”

“I assumed you would at least offer it to him, if it works. I have to consider all business opportunities for Iason, Raoul.”

Katze’s loyalty knew no bounds, Raoul thought pleased, then started typing on the data-pad. “I have every intention of bringing Iason in as an investor should the experiment work, however.” He paused as he finished up a paragraph, then added his signature code and handed the pad back to Katze. “I felt the agreement needed a bit of adjustment.”

Katze scowled and looked over the new terms, then stilled, and slowly sank into the chair behind him. “You...can’t be serious.” His eyes flew upwards to the Blondie. “You can’t do this!”

Raoul settled back in his own chair, facing Katze. “I am Raoul Am, a Blondie of Tanagura. There are few things that I cannot do.”

“No. I know, but this...” Katze read over the paragraph again which named him as a full partner in the project, and included full disclosure, half the right to make decisions during the project and afterwards in regards to manufacturing, complete and exclusive supplier rights to the finished project and fifty percent of all profits.

“Was there something more you wished added? Do you not believe it is a fair agreement?”

Katze swallowed twice because all of the saliva had dried up in his mouth. Finally, he reached for the remains of his drink, gulped it down and worked to push words out of his mouth. Fair? More? Was Raoul insane?

“I’m... Raoul. I...I don’t have the right to...to ...”

His apartment, his business, his car and his clothes, even his food was all paid for by Iason and therefore, ultimately owned by Iason. He had a few small investments here and there, Iason did not mind what he did with the money he was paid, but there was only one thing that was his, one thing he had received in trade for a favour just so he could have something that belonged to him, but even that did not have his name on it officially. And that one thing was meagre and insignificant to what Raoul was offering.

“I...I mean, this is very....it’s really very thoughtful but I can’t...”

Raoul leaned forward, placed his hands over Katze’s, who he noticed was trembling again. He immediately glanced around for a spider, but seeing none he assumed it was simply because the man had been overcome by his emotions; a rarity for the black-market dealer.

“I am a Blondie. I have the right to give anyone, be it a Human, an Alien, a Furniture or a pet whatever I decide they are worthy enough to have. You are worthy of this, Katze. I want you to work with me on this. I meant what I said before, you have fascinating ideas, solid theories and I believe that together we can bring this project to fruition that much faster.”

Katze stared into those deep green eyes, stunned by the kindness, yes kindness and faith he saw in them. “I’m...afraid of spiders!” he whispered, for lack of a better argument.

“I understand, but we can work around that. Perhaps through our work, being in close proximity to them you might even overcome that phobia.”

“Raoul...” He was moved beyond speech to be offered something so incredible.

He’d always had a love of technology, ideas for advancement and an innate curiosity for improving things. It was that curiosity that had gotten him caught by Iason when he had hacked into Tanagura’s mainframe files. It was also the reason that Iason saw him as more than Furniture and had given him a life outside of servitude.

“Iason would never...”

“I will speak to Iason, and I believe he will agree with me on this.” Raoul tapped the data pad in Katze’s lap. “I have already signed it, you need only add your own code and you could have something that is truly yours, Katze. You would be a part of something that will change the world, the universe.”

Katze lowered his eyes to the pad when he felt the sting of tears in them. “He’d have to agree. He’d have to...”

“He will, Katze.” Raoul was determined to convince Iason to allow it. “Sign the contract. Become part of something that you know you really want to be part of.”

Katze bit his lip almost all the way through, before he tapped in his signature code. God. God, did he really just do that? His gaze lifted again and saw that Raoul was smiling and had his hand held out.

“Congratulations, partner.”

Katze stared at the gloved hand for several seconds before he slid his hand into it. “Thank you, Raoul.”

The Blondie stood suddenly. “Now, let’s go see our chupecabra.”

Our? Katze thought, worried, but meekly followed.

An hour later, Raoul showed Katze back upstairs to his condo and walked him to the elevator., then called his Furniture to him.

“Yes, sir?”

“Put Katze on the entry list for the lab.”

“For the lab, sir?” Peter repeated, trying not to show his shock. Master Raoul forbade anyone from going to his lab except for Lord Mink, who rarely went into the lab even when he visited. Even he, as Furniture, was only permitted in when Raoul called for him.

“Yes, we shall be working together on a project, so program him into the system.”

“Working _together_?” Peter almost fainted. The master was very secretive of his experiments and never liked anyone around when he was working.

Raoul scowled. “Is there a parrot in here or are you having difficulty hearing? Shall I call the doctor?”

“N...No sir. I understand. I will take care of it right away.”

“Good. Oh, and anytime Katze does come to work, make sure that damn mermaid’s curtains are down or he’ll never get to the lab.”

“Yes, Sir,” Peter returned meekly and watched his master wander back to the elevator, whistling as he walked. Whistling! “I...need to sit down,” he said and slowly lowered to a chair. He remained only for a moment before he composed himself then hurried to adjust the security system on the lab access.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raoul gets annoyed by his brothers and seeks out his new friend.

Raoul stepped into the hallway of the 20th floor of Jupiter’s tower and accepted the cursory farewell nods from his brothers. These weekly meetings were useless. All anyone did was bicker and make selfish demands. The only one that seemed to be accomplishing anything worthwhile was Iason, who despite being obsessed with his pet, was still on top of everything happening within Tanagura and the Syndicate.

“Do you have plans for the evening, Iason?” he asked when the Blondie he was waiting for finally emerged.

“Yes, I am going to visit Riki for the weekend.”

Raoul quashed his disappointment as he kept pace with his brother. “I still cannot believe you gave him his own apartment. However, did you get Jupiter to agree to that?”

“The apartment belongs to me, as does Riki,” Iason corrected as they stepped onto one of the glides headed down. “I simply made Jupiter see reason, that is all.”

“I don’t believe that for a moment. What did you promise her?”

Iason merely glanced at Raoul.

“I can keep a secret!” Raoul smiled benignly. “I’ve kept all of your secrets, haven’t I?”

“Yes. You have been a good friend and brother, Raoul. I do appreciate you.”

Raoul had not expected such a reward and Iason’s words concerned him. “Is everything well, brother? You would tell me if something was wrong, would you not?”

“There is nothing to worry about.”

They stepped off the first glide and stepped onto another for the next level. Raoul put his hand on Iason’s arm. “I am here if you need me, Iason.”

Iason nodded but appeared preoccupied. “I appreciate that.”

“Do you….?” Raoul broke off as he spotted a familiar red-head crossing on one of the lower floors. “Does Katze have business with you today?” He had not seen or heard from Katze since that day in his lab almost two weeks ago.

“Not that I am aware of.” Iason glanced in the direction Raoul was looking and spotted his man exchanging something with an Emerald. “He must have other business here. I am taking the portal the rest of the way. Have a good day, Raoul.”

“Yes. Yes, you as well, brother.” Raoul stepped off the glide and started on the next one down, trying to keep Katze in his sights.

Was the Human upset with him because of the contract he’d suggested, or perhaps because of their moment of intimacy? He had discussed the matter briefly with Iason, the contract not the kissing, and Iason had no issues with Katze being named as a partner in Raoul’s experiment. In fact the Blondie seemed quite pleased with Raoul’s generosity.

“However, did you find it?” the Emerald was asking as Raoul crossed the floor towards them.

“I never reveal my methods.” Katze smiled. “Are you happy with it?”

“Yes. Very. It is precisely what I requested and looks just like the picture!” The Elite spotted Raoul, smiled. “Lord Am. Good day to you.”

“Good day, Tayen,” Raoul returned as he watched Katze for any sign of tension or annoyance at his arrival. “Katze. What brings you here?”

Katze nodded politely. “Business, Lord Am.”

“Look at what this precious man found for me!” Tayen showed off the colorful square box with a small wooden handle on the side.

“Another toy for your collection?”

“A very special one! Watch.” The Emerald started to turn the handle and a tinny sounding music began. Suddenly the top of the box popped open and a strange looking creature with a brightly painted face popped out.

“Interesting,” Raoul offered, not in the least interested in the odd toy.

“It is called a June in the box.”

“Jack in the Box,” Katze corrected with a quick grin.

Tayen Yors was not one of his best customers, but he was one of Katze’s favorites. He didn’t make a lot of money with their transactions, but the Emerald’s fascination of old Earth toys was a rather bizarre hobby for an Elite and Katze enjoyed the challenge of finding them. The toys could be easily replicated, of course, but Tayen wanted originals and he was always so thrilled to get a new one.

“Yes, yes, Jack not June.” Tayen shoved the clown back into the box, wound it again then laughed when it popped out. “What thrilling creations these Humans made. Don’t you think so, Lord Am?”

“They are unique, certainly.”

Tayen turned his happy smile on Katze again. “Thank you again, and if you don’t mind…?” He reached into the pocket of his tunic. “Can you find this one next?”

Katze accepted the printed picture of something rounded on two ends and made of wire or some kind of coil. “What is it?” He honestly had never seen anything like it before.

“It is called a Slinky. It can walk down steps and across the floor! Isn’t that exciting?”

Katze scratched his cheek. “Well, I’ll try, but I’ve honestly never seen the like of it before.”

“I trust you’ll find it.” Tayen patted Katze’s arm. “You have never disappointed me.”

Katze nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

The Emerald smiled again, pleased, then nodded to Raoul. “Lord Am, if you will excuse me, I simply must show this to my brother Toyen.”

“Very well. Good day to you then.”

“I believe Jupiter mistakenly used a five year old’s brain for that one.”

“It’s just his hobby,” Katze defended.

“They are toys. Toys for Human children. It is a preposterous hobby for an Elite.”

“You collect, dissect, mutilate and splice weird creatures together. Do you really think you should be calling someone else’s hobby  preposterous?”

Raoul grinned. “That is science, his is nonsense.”

“Ah. Well, on that note, I’ll be off as well,” Katze tucked the picture into the pocket of his jacket and started to turn away, only to have Raoul catch his arm.  “Did you need something, Lord Am?”

“Are you avoiding me, Katze?” Raoul inquired quietly.

“No. Why would I be avoiding you?”

“You have not contacted me in weeks, and now you are leaving without speaking to me.”

“I _am_ speaking to you.” Katze glanced around, lowered his voice. “I am working right now, Raoul. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“So, you are not angry with me?”

“No. I’ve just been very busy.”

“Oh. I see.” A strange feeling of relief flowed through Raoul and he released Katze’s arm. “I will not keep you from it then.”

“Thank you. Have a good day.” Katze turned, started to walk away and just happened to glance back, saw Raoul watching him. He sighed, took out his mini com and punched something into it, then printed a small card.

Raoul watched Katze turn around and walk back to him, then hand him a small card with an address. “What is this?”

“My place. Come for dinner,” Katze replied in that same quiet voice.

“Tonight?”

“I can’t tonight, or tomorrow. Two or three days maybe, or whenever you’re free tomorrow.”

Raoul’s fingers tightened in the card, pleased. “Thank you, Katze.”

Katze nodded, turned away again and continued towards a glide. Several elites waved to him, or stopped to say hello, so he was careful not to look back at Raoul again.

 

*************************

Raoul found himself at a pet party later that evening, for lack of a better option, and tried to show interest in the show but he had none. He was not only bored but restless, and growing more and more annoyed by one table of Elites who kept casting him sly looks.

“Raoul?”

He glanced to his left as his brother Gideon spoke to him, at least his brother had invited him to share the table. “Hmmm?”

“You do not seem to be enjoying yourself. Is anything troubling you?”

“Not particularly.” Raoul picked up the drink he’d left untouched since it had been brought to the table.

Gideon was one of the few Blondies that he did not feel any particular resentment for. They were not close, not as he and Iason were, but Gideon did not go out of his way to gossip or judge him for his experiments. Not through any redeeming virtue or brotherly affection, of course, but through the simple fact that Gideon was a narcissist and only cared about how things affected him.

He did however possess a wonderful sense of humor, and was the first to cast a joke to defuse a tense situation between the other Blondies. It was often used to interrupt extreme unkindness towards Raoul, but Raoul was not foolish enough to believe that his brother did so out of any sort of compassion. Gideon simply liked to keep things as pleasant as possible as often as possible because that was less stressful for him personally.

“Are the pets not exquisitely horny tonight, brother?” Orphe taunted Raoul from his seat at the table and lifted his glass. “They are some of your lot, are they not?”

“Yes,” Raoul returned, fully aware that Orphe was not offering a compliment but setting him up for a subtle insult. Most pets in Eos were part of his genetic breeding program and he never understood why Orphe enjoyed pointing out the obvious. “I am delighted you are pleased with them.”

“Yes, well, that is how you made them, isn’t it?” Orphe sipped his drink and watched Raoul over the rim of his glass, calculating. “Doesn’t it bother you that Iason prefers a filthy mongrel to one of your superior breeds?”

Ah, so that was his game today. “Iason’s preference and pet has nothing to do with my breeds.”

“Don’t they? What if the rest of us decided to take a mongrel as a pet? Wouldn’t that put a damper on your sales and reputation?” Orphe sat back in his wide chair, smiled.  “What would you breed then?”

“Unicorns.”

Everyone at the table looked at Gideon startled.

“Unicorns?” Orphe inquired, bemused. “The things with the horns on their heads?”

“Yes. I’d like a black one, if you decide to make it a project, Raoul.”

“Whatever would you do with a unicorn?” Raoul asked, curious.

“It’s not about doing something with it, it’s the status of having one.” Gideon lifted his finger for another drink and the server droid hurried to his table, the beverage sliding out of the replicator panel around its middle. “Now that I think of it, you should only make one, and I’ll purchase it and be the only one to have such a creature.”

“We are going off topic,” Orphe began.

“Are we?” a sapphire also seated at their table asked and looked at Raoul. “If Lord Lagnat gets a unicorn I would like a dragon. A small one, tabletop size preferably.”

“My unicorn would eat your bite-sized dragon,” Gideon decided with a smile.

“Impossible. Dragons breathe fire. There is nothing more indestructible than dragon scale, or so the legends say.”

“They are both mythical creatures that do not exist!” Orphe insisted, annoyed. “You are both being ridiculous, but then…” His gaze landed on Raoul again. “That is your stock and trade, is it not, brother? The ridiculous?”

“What is ridiculous is that I decided to sit with those who have little to no vision of anything outside the cries of their pets and the credits in their purse.” Raoul finished his drink in two long swallows set it down then rose. “Perhaps I will create a unicorn, _brother_ , just for the satisfaction of shoving its golden horn up your anal cavity.”

Gideon roared with laughter as Raoul walked away and ignored the glares that Orphe sent him.

“Lord Am!” the club manager hurried up. “Are you leaving already? We have another show if you do not approve of the current pets, or perhaps a…”

“I am not interested.” Raoul waved the man off and stormed outside. He knew better than to allow his anger to get the better of him, but he just could not take Orphe and his nonsense any longer. 

He realized that he didn’t want to go home or work in his lab, so he started walking until he found a parking elevator and took it to the lower levels of Eos. Once in his car he simply started driving, not even sure where he was going, he just wanted to be away from Eos and his brothers and all their nonsense.

*********************

Katze uncoded his door locks and slipped inside.  Immediately his three legged, nearly blind cat started to wind through his legs.

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you.” He bent to pick up the sleek orange cat to avoid tripping over it on the way to his kitchen. “Let me get in the damn door, would you?”

The poor animal that he had found behind a dumpster when he was leaving for work one day had been attacked, either by another animal or some cruel person, and had been badly wounded.  As there were no official vets on Amoï, so he took the wretched thing to an underground physician who immediately announced it should be put out of its misery.

Katze refused and so the doctor worked on the cat as best he could. The right front leg had been too mangled to be saved and the doctor also advised that the cat would probably lose vision it its left eye due to the gash that ran down its face.

Katze had felt such pity for the thing, that he paid a ridiculous sum for the doctor to save the cat’s life, then brought it home with him. He read somewhere that pets sometimes looked like their owners, in this case it was almost comically true for both he and the cat had a scar on the left side of their face.

The cat continued to meow loudly as he set her on the counter, poured some food into a bowl and set it in front of her. She attacked it greedily as Katze slowly started to strip.

He’d met up with a trio of Yan’oth’alns for a trade deal and was now paying the price. He had deliberately worn his old clothes to the meet, because he knew he would have to trash them afterwards.

The Yan’oth’alns were an affable race of botanist explorers that travelled the galaxy collecting samples of plants and dirt. Their entire planet revolved around the study and cultivating of vegetation. They were small creatures, only about four or five feet, and could never be considered a threat, however they were covered in tentacles that emitted a foul-smelling secretion when they were in heat.

Because these particular Yan’oth’alns were on a three-year mission through space, they were unable to mate during this time, and they had run out of the serum they usually held in stock for such long excursions. Their heat could grow worse, some even died from it if they did not get the serum required. They had contacted Katze because they were missing one key ingredient that was needed to make more of the serum.

Katze was more than willing to assist them, they had paid very, very well and he got a few rare species of fauna in the bargain that he could probably sell elsewhere if the opportunity arose. The problem was the smell from the Yan’oth’alns’ heat attached to everything and everyone in the nearby vicinity. They had met outside the city limits, but the isolated area and the open air did nothing to prevent Katze from getting covered in their stink. He had been surprised his cat had even come close to him.

Naked, he tossed the clothes into the recycler then moved to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. He’d probably have to scrub for an hour, he thought bitterly as he set the temperature for the spray, but the deal was worth it. The deal was almost always worth it.

He had just stepped out of the shower when a chime sounded at his front entrance. Scowling, he wrapped a towel around his waist, stepped back into the hall and grabbed his hand blaster from where he had left it on the counter.

The chime sounded a second time as he moved to the viewfinder next to the door, his scowl deepened but he lowered his weapon as he uncoded the auto-locks and opened the door.

Raoul allowed his gaze to travel all the way down and back up again over a mostly naked, deliciously damp Katze. Arousal spiked through him, then amusement when he saw the blaster at the barely clothed man’s side. “Were you expecting trouble?”

It appears he got some, Katze thought, but did not voice his annoyance. “What can I do for you, Raoul?”

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I would see if you were available.”

“It’s very late. Do Blondies not sleep?”

“You weren’t sleeping.” Raoul stepped through the doorway without an invitation. “What were you doing?”

“I was in the shower. I just got home.” With a barely concealed sigh, Katze closed the door, set his blaster on a small hall table close to it. “What were you doing in this neighborhood at this time of night?”

Raoul waved a gloved hand, dismissively, refusing to admit that he had been driving around for hours aimlessly before he found himself at the address that Katze had given him earlier. “This is nice,” he decided as he glanced around the apartment.

The living and dining area were one room, but separated by a half wall that held an assortment of small figurines. The living area contained a wide sofa and matching chair, a set of glass and chrome end tables sat opposite the main wall screen for viewing. He noticed there were several hanging plants in various corners of the room and the dining area contained just a small, four-seater table of polished wood with a short bowl of coloured stones.

“Raoul…?”

“Are you not going to offer me a drink?”

Katze glared at Raoul’s back as the Blondie started wandering the apartment. “I have to get dressed.”

Raoul glanced at Katze as he disappeared down a small hallway, pushed away the thought that he preferred the man nearly naked, and bent to examine the figures on the half wall, each in some sort of coloured armor. Odd, he thought. Were they toys? Dolls? Straightening he let his gaze roam over the few pieces of artwork on the walls and was fascinated at the running theme. They were all dark concepts. Not death, necessarily, or morose but slightly disturbing and definitely thought provoking.

A black and white skeleton warrior holding an axe, the red blood dripping from the weapon was the only colour in the picture. A great, blazing eye within a dark, shrouded tree within what appeared to be the open mouth of a Human or beast. One of naked lovers, both male, intertwined not in a loving or sexual embrace but more a desperate life and death battle, and yet he knew that they were lovers. He had never seen such pictorials and was curious as to where Katze had purchased them.

Moving on he stepped up into the kitchen area, which was perhaps only one quarter the size of his own kitchen and yet Katze had outfitted the cozy room perfectly so that the man could move from stove to counter to fridge to cupboard with quick, efficient steps; wasting no time or energy as he cooked.

Raoul headed down the curved hallway, found the wash area, also small but pristine with the familiar scent of moisture still hanging in the air. One room made into an office area with a desk, computer console and wall shelves filled with actual paper books. He stopped at the door at the very end of the hall. This must be the master bedroom.

Feeling absolutely within his rights to continue his exploration, he put his hand on the door knob and was only mildly disappointed when it opened and Katze slid out of the room and closed the door firmly behind him.

“I only have tea, water or whiskey,” he told the elite as they returned to the kitchen area. “I don’t keep wine or anything else here.”

“Tea will do.”

Katze grabbed a container of loose tea, fed three scoops into the water processor, then flipped the switch for it to boil. He reached into the cupboard above the counter and pulled them down, just as the machine announced the tea was ready by a light ding.

“Those paintings, who is the artist?” Raoul asked as Katze handed him the first cup.

“Just some guy who likes to paint.”

“They are very interesting. I wonder, does he have more work? I might like to purchase one or two from him.” Raoul glanced back from where he had been looking across the room at the lovers painting and found Katze frozen with his cup halfway to his mouth. “Is that a problem? Does he no longer paint?”

“I…no. No, he does, occasionally.” Katze stepped around Raoul and moved to the living area to settle on the sofa. “Do you actually like them?”

“I do.” Raoul took a sip of tea, pleased with the flavour, then settled beside Katze. “I would like the artist’s contact information.”

“Actually,” Katze set his cup on the coffee table, sat back. “I painted them.”

Raoul blinked then slowly smiled. “Did you really? Katze that is wonderful. Does Iason know you have such a talent?”

Katze shook his head. “I don’t really.” He looked over at his paintings. “I just do it in my spare time, which is spare enough. If you like one you can just take it. You don’t have to pay for it.”

“I insist on paying. I have become entranced with that one.” Raoul pointed to the lovers painting on the wall behind them. “Whatever inspired you to paint such a fascinating display?”

Katze turned on the sofa so he could view the rendering properly. It was one of his first paintings, and what had inspired him was, oddly enough, watching the early relationship between Riki and Iason. Their tug of war, the heat of their emotions, Iason’s love and Riki’s rage. Still, he felt it would be intrusive to his master to admit such a thing to another Blondie, so instead he said.

“Something I saw, I guess. I don’t really remember. I’ll have it sent to your condo, if you like.”

“I’ll take it with me tonight, if you don’t mind, and I will pay you for it.”

Katze shrugged faced forward again. He’d never sold a painting before, never even considered it. Of course, no one knew he painted because no one came to his apartment. He was opening up a whole can of worms here that he wasn’t quite ready for.

“Could you…Could you not tell Iason? About where you got it?”

“Don’t you think he’d approve?”

“I don’t know, I never thought about it.” Katze glanced up and met Raoul’s gaze. “I just feel weird at the idea of him knowing.”

Since Raoul enjoyed the idea of having a special secret between them, he nodded. “Very well.” He took another sip of his tea, leaned forward and set his cup next to Katze’s on the table. “You make a splendid cup of tea, Katze.”

“Well,” Katze scratched at the scar on his cheek. “I was trained as Furniture.”

“Yes. I often forget that. What is in the room at the end of your hall?”

“My bedroom.”

“Why do you not wish me to see it?”

“I never said you couldn’t see it.”

“You stopped me from going in earlier.”

“I didn’t stop you. I just didn’t see the point as I was coming out.”

“What are you hiding?” Raoul asked with a smile, just as there was a loud, mournful cry from the very room they were discussing. His eyebrow rose, intrigued. “What was that? Do you have someone in there, tied up and in the midst of being tortured?”

The sudden zeal in the Blondie’s eyes made Katze smirk. “No. It’s my pet.” His cat must have followed him in, apparently unnoticed by Raoul, when he went to dress.

“You have a pet? I was unaware that Furniture, forgive me, Humans could purchase pets. What possible use could you have for it?”

“It’s not that kind of pet.”

“What kind is it?”

“If I show you, you are not to even think about experimenting on it. Do you understand? I mean it, Raoul. She’s been through enough.”

“It is female?” Raoul asked as he watched Katze rise and head down the hall. “This _is_ fascinating. Whatever do you do with a female pet?”

“Just…wait.” Katze disappeared around the corner, then returned a moment later with the animal in his arms. “This is Serenity, my pet cat.”

“Oooohhhh. A four-legged Felis Catus.” Raoul blinked. “Three legged? Why does it only have three legs?”

“She,” Katze reminded as he settled back on the sofa. “Was injured when I found her and the doctor couldn’t save the leg.”

“Why did you not terminate?”

“Because she had some life left in her and I wanted to see how much.” Katze smiled when Serenity curled up contentedly in his lap. “Turned out to be a lot.”

Raoul ran a single gloved finger across the cat’s back, watched as Serenity arched under it, then settled down again. “How lovely. I actually am rather intrigued by the species. They must be very sturdy, as they were one of only six species to survive Earth’s degradation and demise. She has a scar on her face.” He smiled and lifted his gaze to Katze. “On the same side as your scar.”

“She’s blind in that eye, I guess it’s from whatever attacked her.”

“But you match, I think that is charming. I read once that Humans often start to resemble their pets, though I have never seen proof of it.”

“Really?” Fully aware that he was being teased, Katze slid his eyes slyly towards the Elite. “Should I start watching you for signs you’re turning into a horny adolescent?”

“I do not believe there is much hope for that.” Although, Raoul mused as he recalled the sight of Katze in just a towel, perhaps not impossible. He stroked the cat again, pleased when it started to purr under his touch. “I’ve often wondered if they truly have nine lives.”

“Given the shape she was in when I found her, she’s probably already lived eight of hers. And, I repeat, don’t even think about it.”

“A simple blood and tissue sample would be all…”

“No.”

“It is a small thing and it will not even damage…”

“You are not experimenting on my cat.”

“You are being very unreasonable.”

“And you are being rude and annoying!”

Raoul stared at Katze, shocked. “How dare you!”

“How dare you! This is _my_ home and this is _my_ cat. I don’t come into your home and demand tissue samples from your damn pets!”

“Well no, I…” Raoul thought about it, realized Katze’s anger was justified, but he still preferred to have his way in things. “If you would like I can produce samples of them for you, I have several in my lab.”

“I don’t want samples of your pets!”

“It would be a fair trade, Katze.”

“I’m not trading on my cat!” Katze picked up the cat, nuzzled it. “She’s mine, Raoul. You’re not getting her, any piece of her and if you keep on about it, we can’t be friends any more.”  


“Oh, well. I do not want that.” Raoul straightened on the sofa, picked up his tea, sipped. “I have never seen a live one before and my scientific mind ran away with me.”

Katze sighed, he knew that Raoul was just being Raoul; it was hard for the Blondie not to think like a mad scientist. It actually gave him a secret thrill that the Raoul felt he could be himself during their visits. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for yelling.”

“Quite alright.” Raoul paused. “Have you considered breeding her?”

Katze simply stared at Raoul until the Elite was forced to look away.

“It is a valid and reasonable question and would fulfill both our desires. I could purchase one or all of her off spring and you would still have the mother intact.”

“I’ve never seen another cat on Amoï, I don’t even know how this one got here…”

“If I managed to acquire a male would you…?”

“No!” Katze barked and then chuckled, shook his head. “I’ll see if I can find another one for you, okay?  But you can’t have mine.”

“Agreed.” Raoul decided and adjusted his position on the sofa so he was more comfortable and slightly turned towards Katze. “Have you had any luck on the arachnid?”

“Not yet.”

Serenity suddenly rose, arched her back, and decided to stretch out on the small amount of space left on the cushions between them, with her back paws touching Katze and her front paws almost touching Raoul. Katze gave her a good scratch between the ears, pulled his leg up under him and also adjusted his position to face Raoul.

 “I have some feelers out though and I’ve asked all my contacts that work at the casinos and pleasure palaces to let me know if someone like that comes in.”

“Good. I suppose that is all we can do.” Raoul reached down to stroke the purring cat again, finding the act very soothing indeed “What sort of entertainment do you have programed?”

“Hmm?” Katze asked but Raoul had already given the screen on command and the wall across from them burst into colour and sound, followed by screaming. “Shit.”

“Oh…my!” Raoul tilted his head, curious as he watched a man being bitten in half by an enormous sea creature with enormous, glaringly white teeth, while another man on a broken, antiquated sea vessel attempted, but failed to reach him. “What _is_ this?”

Katze cleared his throat. “It’s an old Earth movie.”

“Why is that creature eating that man?”

“It’s a shark. They were hunting it because it had killed other people.”

“On that vessel?”

“Er…no, in the water, but this time the shark was pissed off enough to destroy their boat so it could get to them.”

“I see.” Raoul watched as the creature pulled the bleeding, gurgling man underneath the water and disappeared. “How many people has it eaten?”

Katze tried to recall the rest of the movie. “Three, I think, no four. Although it never shows if that one fisherman was eaten, but his boat was sunk and his head decapitated.”

“Is this the kind of entertainment you usually watch?”

“Sometimes, just depends on my mood. This is actually almost the end, so if you want to watch something else, I can bring up the menu….”

“Oh no. Let’s watch the rest.” Raoul settled back and picked up his tea and found it cold, he scowled.

Katze rose. “I’ll get you another.”

“I’ll take a whisky this time. Does the shark die in the end?”

“If I told you that it would ruin the ending.”

“Ah, yes. That is true.”

Katze returned with a glass of whisky each for them, then settled back down to watch through to the end, which was really only another few minutes, then Raoul asked if there were more with the murderous shark theme. Katze programmed Jaws Two.

Halfway through the second movie, Raoul pulled his attention away long enough to notice that Katze had propped his bare feet on the table and leaned his head over the back of the sofa, exposing his throat long pale throat. The cat had crawled up to stretch across the back with her head nuzzled against Katze’s. Both man and animal were sound asleep.

It was then he recalled what Katze had said almost two hours earlier about just getting home when he had arrived. It must have been a long day for him. It pleased him that Katze felt comfortable enough to fall asleep in his presence, for he knew of no other, Human or Elite, that would dare. Mostly for fear of what he might do to them while they slept, he imagined.

“You really are very sweet,” he decided softly as he stroked the cat’s fur and felt the vibration of its purr. “I can see why he is so protective of you.” Serenity blinked one bicoloured eye and one nearly white eye at him, as if daring him to realize that he was having a conversation with a cat. “Do you think we might be able to find a creature like this somewhere?” He indicated the shark on the screen. “It might be interesting to breed it with a Facturan Lizard, they grow to be thirty feet long you know, and are also carnivores.”  

Another little purr reached the Blondie’s ears and he turned his head, realized that Katze was softly snoring.

“Well, _that_ is simply adorable.” Raoul quietly rose and gently pulled Katze into his arms. When the man did not stir, he walked down the hall to the bedroom. Blondies were strong, and it was like Katze weighed nothing at all, but he decided that the man should eat more, he was to thin and light for someone of his height and age.

Opening the bedroom door, he stepped through and settled Katze on the wide bed, freshly made of course.

Taking a moment to look around, he saw that the room was neat, done in shades of blue and white, and was the only messy room in the apartment, if you considered a towel slung over a low arm chair and a pair of socks on the floor messy.

Unable to quell his curiosity, he opened the closet, saw Katze’s clothing neatly hung and suitably arranged, trousers and jackets on one side, blouses and tunics on the other. There was a set of four drawers at the back of the closet that held an arrangement of socks, ties and a few dressier adornments.

Stepping out, he closed the closet door, picked up a data pad that was on the single nightstand and swiped it. A novel, he realized, about halfway through given the page numbers. So, he read electronic books as well as antique ones. He set it down as Serenity hopped up on the bed, walked to the spare pillow and started kneading her claws on it, before turning around twice to settle back down for another nap.

Raoul smiled at the scene, then opened another door, expecting storage, and instead found a set of stairs leading up.

Again, his Blondie sense of privileged prevented him from feeling the slightest guilt or hesitation at continuing his uninvited exploration. Motion sensors triggered a soft glow of light as he ascended and finally the stairwell widened into a large room that, given the dimensions, had to be the length of Katze’s apartment down stairs.

There were no windows, he noticed, but there was plenty of light and plenty of things. Rows and rows of warehouse containers, locked so Raoul did not bother with them. Two large trunks that contained old copies of more books. He wondered if they were marketable goods or for Katze’s personal collection.

Against the farthest wall were racks of electrical equipment, adapters, old and new consoles and numerous other components. Some pieces were on a long wall bench and appeared to be in the midst of being adapted or rewired.  Compelled by the sight of a huge storage locker, he walked over and pulled it open. Weapons. Some legal, some not, but of multiple range, use and no doubt retrieved from a variety of species.

He spotted a stack of squares in the corner covered by a selection of sheets, and when he pulled one off, he brightened at the canvasses underneath. Ten, no, twelve original artworks. Deciding there were two more he had to have, he started to devise a way to get Katze to show them to him, without the man knowing he was up here.

Finally, a tall wooden cabinet revealed more of the strange armoured men, only these were a different type. While the ones downstairs had a modern, more symmetrical vibe to their armour, these were far more Human in composition. It took him only a moment, as he picked up each figure and examined it, to realize that they were all replicas of warriors, both past and present. There were many figures he recognized from the history logs of Old Earth, but there were also ones from Tulus Prime, Zenobia, Mecury 4 and a host of other planets.

So, Katze liked things to do with war and ancient history, and enjoyed watching violent movies where people were mutilated. His paintings were dark, yet insightful and the man enjoyed reading old fiction novels. He liked cats, or his cat anyway, and he was neat and a good cook. He was shy about his personal talents but extremely confident in his abilities as a black-market dealer.

This was all tremendously fascinating, and just when Raoul thought he had seen and learned everything he could about Katze from the room, he found an ancient projector almost hidden in the corner. He immediately set it up and aimed it at the one blank wall of the attic room. There was no sound, but Raoul didn’t need sound to understand what was happening.

Children. It was all footage of Human children. Laughing, playing, learning, sleeping. All stages of a child’s life from infancy to what appeared to be the teenage years. Occasionally, an adult made an appearance. Tucking a child into bed. Pushing them on a bike. Curled up with them and reading.

Were these parents, he wondered? Is that what the adult male and female represented? The biological process of how children were born was basically the same with most species, but there were no ‘parents’ on Amoï. He and the other Elites had been created in a laboratory by Jupiter, who was both mother and father, he supposed.

For the Humans, once a female mongrel became pregnant and had the child, she was taken or sold to a wealthy household while the child, if it was a male, was placed in Guardian, the orphanage in Ceres. If the child was a female, it would follow the mother until the child was old enough to breed, then would also be sold to a wealthy recipient. Females had it better than males in their society, but only because the rate of female births were so low. Jupiter had insisted that the mongrels be limited in that way to prevent an uprising.

He could not understand why Katze would have this footage. Was it for a client? He did not think so. If it was would it not be put away somewhere instead of settled in the corner of the room? Did Katze wish he was like these children, these free and seemingly happy whelps? That also did not make sense. Katze had been given every opportunity a Human male could be given on Amoï, it did not seem logical that the man felt he was missing out on something so mundane as parents or a relaxed and free childhood.

“Curious,” Raoul decided as he switched off the player and returned it to its place.

When he returned to Katze’s bedroom, he saw that the cat had curled up on Katze’s stomach, both were still sound asleep. He quietly crouched by the bed, listened to the cat’s purr and Katze’s light snore.

“What am I to do with you?” he asked both bedazzled and bewildered by the pair. He wanted to pick Katze up, take him back to his own home and just watch the man sleep. How odd was that? How very odd indeed.

He rose, found a blanket in one of the cupboards and laid it over them, then he returned to the living room, took down the Lover’s painting from the wall and let himself out of the apartment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice long one for you. Only two, maybe three chapters left I think then I will wrap this up. Feel free comment still and let me know how I am doing. :p


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Character Death Scene. (Sorry Dardar1)
> 
> Raoul and Katze bond when tragedy strikes.  
> \-----------------------------------

Katze stared through the window of his office as he once again went over the conversation, he’d had with Iason nearly ten days before. Telling Iason Mink that his pet had gone missing had probably be one of the worst moments of Katze’s life, but the Elite had ordered him to stand down, claiming it was a private matter and he would deal with it.

But Katze couldn’t stand down. Riki was his responsibility Iason had depended on him to keep Riki safe and out of trouble; that was part of the deal when Riki came back to work for him. Now the mongrel was missing, had been missing for almost ten days.

He didn’t think Riki would run, not now, after all this time and with the choices he had made. He had checked the apartment in Apathia and Riki’s wrist unit, there had been no answer. He’d discretely run a check through the hotels and casinos in the area, even the dive bars, but no one fitting Riki’s description had been in.

Inhaling deeply on his cigarette, he brooded and considered where else Riki could have gone, then pouted because Iason had essentially told him to mind his own business. He had briefly considered Guy or Bison being involved, and he had put out some feelers in that reguard but had received nothing back.

Iason had not contacted him again. Riki had not been found. Katze, could only do as Iason demanded and wait.

“Bullshit. That’s what this is, it’s fucking grade A bullshit.” Well, he couldn’t just sit there, he had to do something. “What have you gotten yourself into this time, Riki?” Rising, he grabbed his jacket and stalked out of his office, then outside to his vehicle.

He backed out of his reserved spot then shot down the road towards the highway. Something inside him warned that this wasn’t just Riki fucking around or the pet making a run for it. This was something much more serious.

Just as he reached the building that housed the condo Iason had set up for Riki, his communicator beeped. “Speak,” he demanded as he walked into the building and took the stairs up to the penthouse, rather than the elevator which was monitored.

“Got something boss, maybe.”

“Don’t give me maybe, do you or don’t you?”

“One of my contacts seems to remember there was a mongrel hanging around the entertainment district the last month or so. Was looking for a friend of his, his pairing partner or some shit.”

Katze stopped on the landing of the 10th floor. “Describe him.”

“The mongrel? Tall, really tall, like 6’4 maybe. Brown hair in a tail, built, muscular like,”

Fuck! His suspicion had been right. “What about who he was looking for? Did your contact see a picture or get a description?”

“5’6, dark and dark. In fact, that was the name he gave, Riki the Dark.”

Guy. It had to be Riki’s friend from Bisson. “Does he know if anyone gave him any leads?”

“Not where my contact was, but he could have gotten a lead somewhere else. Is that who we’re looking for, man? The Leader of Bison? I thought it was just the new guy who’s working...” There was a pause on the other line. “Holy fuck shitting titties! You had Riki the fucking Dark working for you?”

“Call me when you have more information.” Katze ended the call and continued his sprint to the 20th floor.

He uncoded the lock to Riki’s apartment and threw open the door. It was the same as when he had left it days before, a few clothes strewn over a chair, some empty takeout boxes that were probably well over a week old at least now.

Moving into the bedroom he saw that the bed was pristine, one thing he had learned about Riki was that the guy hated getting into a messy bed, so he always made it. But did he make it before he left for work that morning or had the bed not been slept in overnight?

He did a quick but thorough search of the apartment, looking for any clue of Riki’s plans to run, or signs of forced abduction. All Riki’s clothes were still in the closet, except for what he had been wearing yesterday and his black leather jacket. A novel was laying open to where Riki had stopped reading, and face down on the coffee table in the living room. The fridge was stocked, so if he ran, he hadn’t taken any food or clothes with him.

Storming out of the room, he was interrupted by an incoming call from another of his contacts.

“Speak.”

“Yo, Kit Kat, my wit says he saw your boy walking home sometime a week before last and some guy on an aircycle trailing him.  Didn’t see nothing after, but that was around 8:30 down in district ten.”

“Okay thanks.” Katze ended the call just as another came in, this one from Raoul. “I can’t talk now.”

“You are busy? Not a problem, I merely wished to ask you a question about...”

“You can ask later, Raoul, I have to go.”

Raoul stared at his com in shock. “He cut me off. How dare he cut me off!”

“Sir?” Peter turned to his master, expectantly.

Raoul glanced over at the young Furniture, then waved his hand at him. “Nothing.” He could understand if Katze was busy, of course, but to behave so rudely was uncalled for. He was a Blondie after all and demanded respect.

Then he paused, considered. Katze had looked strange. Not angry, or afraid but, stressed, perhaps? Well, he did have a stressful occupation, so Raoul would forgive him this one time. He would just call later.

Feeling less annoyed, he placed a call to Iason. “Iason, I...”

“Get over here now.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Riki’s trace is not working. I need you to fix it.”

“I’ll come by in a few hours, I am waiting on...”

“Now Raoul!”

Raoul blinked several times as he attempted to adjust to being hung up on a second time. What in the name of Jupiter was going on? He rose. “Peter, get my cloak.”

“Yes, Sir.” The boy hurried to comply as Raoul’s female pet wandered out.

“I’m horny, Master.”

“I’ll play with you later, pet. I have to go out.”

“You just came in!” she whined petulantly.

“Go to your room and wait!” he snapped, annoyed at yet another sign of disrespect. “You are forbidden from touching yourself until I return.”

He stormed out of his condo with a flourish, rode down to the main lobby and stepped through an interior transport portal that would take him to Iason’s building. He rode up the elevator, fuming all the while.

How dare Iason demand he attend, as if he were Furniture! And Katze was no better, hanging up on him when he only wanted to ask a question. Two minutes it would have taken and the Human could not even spare him that. Now, because his brother’s pet was having trouble with the damned cock ring Raoul had created for him, Iason insisted he be the one to fix it. He had a fix all right. He’d throw that mongrel off the balcony, that would fix everything!

Cal opened the door to Iason’s condo just as Raoul reached it and the Blondie swooped in, then suddenly stopped.

The apartment was in shambles. Paintings had been ripped from the walls, priceless sculptures shattered on the floor, furniture over turned.

“What in Jupiter’s name...?” Raoul began even as Iason stormed out of his study and he pure, unadulterated rage framing his brother’s face. “Iason?”

“I have to go.”

Cal rushed to retrieve Iason’s cloak.

“Where are you going? You told me to come here and help...”

“He has Riki!” Iason barked as he shrugged into his coat.

He had waited by his com for some word from Riki, some signal that the mongrel had made a mistake and was actually okay and wanted to come back, and instead it had been Raoul who had contacted him. He’d thought perhaps his brother could fix the issue with Riki’s tracer, but right after he spoke with his brother he’d received the call from Guy, telling him where to meet. He’d flown into a rage, then realized he was wasting time and had started out, just as his brother arrived.

“Who has Riki? Iason! What is going on?”

“Stay here,” Iason ordered. “Stay here in case he calls back.”

“Who?” Raoul demanded, furious that his brother wasn’t listening to him and confused to see Iason in such a state.

“He’s kidnapped Riki and is demanding I meet with him to get my pet returned.”

“Who? And Why? Iason, you can’t possibly think of going!” Raoul grabbed his arm. “You are putting yourself in danger, for what, for some pet...”

Iason viciously shook Raoul’s arm off. “He is more than that! He is Riki and I will have him. He belongs to me.”

“Iason, at least wait and we will call the others. We will gather a security team and...”

“No! I must go alone, those were his terms.”

“This is insane! Let me call our brothers and we will find a solution...”

“Tell no one. Riki is a pet and they have already made life difficult for us because he is also a mongrel. They cannot know about this, Raoul. Your word on it. Your word!”

Raoul shook his head, but said. “I will say nothing, if that is your wish, but Iason, you must take someone with you. Please.”

“I will handle this on my own. I want you to work on fixing Riki’s tracer signal, in case the bastard tries to run with him.”

“Yes. Yes, alright, but Iason, please be careful.”

 

********************************

 

Katze rushed forward as he spotted the two figures coming through the flames. When Riki had switched on the tracer in his wrist unit just an hour before, Katze had been both over joyed and furious. He’d found Riki in a less than healthy state, having been castrated by his former pairing partner to remove Riki’s cock ring.

They had driven to Dana Burn, the place Riki was sure Iason and Guy would be, but then Riki had insisted that he go in alone, worried about Guy’s state of mind if the mongrel saw anyone but him.  Katze had reluctantly agreed to remain outside , but just a few minutes later there an explosion had thrown him off his feet.

“Riki!” he rushed forward, saw that the mongrel had his arm around the person responsible for this mess, half dragging him away from the destruction. Riki fell just as Katze reached him. “Riki! Riki, get up, what was that explosion.”

“Take…take Guy.”

“Alight, stay here, don’t pass out.”

“I can’t…need to do something.”

“Later!”

“If…Guy can be saved, change his face, wipe his memory.”

Katze tried to comprehend what Riki was saying, he was asking questions and Riki was attempting to answer them, but for some reason they were not registering inside Katze’s brain. Something about Iason being trapped. Something about Riki not letting Iason die alone. What was happening? What was this he was listening to? Panic, fear, desperation crawled through him as he attempted to sort through the reality being thrown at him. Katze watched himself pull out his special pack of Black Moon cigarette’s offer them to Riki. He said something about it being painless, or was it go to sleep? He couldn’t be sure.  His eyes were clouded. There was an amplified booming in his brain, a hard, horrid thudding in his chest and he had ceased to feel Riki’s flesh beneath his hands.

Riki took the cigarettes, and then he was limping away, towards the flames and the smoke, walking into death.

 “Riki.”

Katze watched the mongrel disappear back into the flames, willing himself to stay where he was. He knew Riki’s intent. If Iason couldn’t get out, Riki intended to die with him. At some point, Katze must have decided to accept Riki’s choice but then reality crashed down on him and he realized what was truly happening. Finally, he could see again, hear and feel again. Iason. Iason was in there! His Master was about to die!

 He hurried towards where he had seen Riki disappear just as a second powerful explosion once more threw him backwards onto the dirt.

“Iason!” he screamed crawling up on his knees as he watched the remains of the structure cave in on itself.

There was no sound, no sound and no feeling in him now, just emptiness. A minute. An hour. A day passed, there was no way to know, until finally he came back to himself. He realized that he was still kneeling in the dirt and staring at the flames ahead of him. He started to shake, either from cold or despair or maybe from shock

A keening moan of pain came from several feet behind him and slowly he rose, turned to look at the mongrel responsible for the death of his Master. For the death of his friend and mentor. Riki’s last words sounded in his head and he bent to haul Guy up, started to drag him away from the heat and destruction. The pain in his chest grew exponentially and once he was far enough away from the blast area, he dropped Guy back on the ground.

Take care of him, Riki had said. They had been his last words to him and Katze would remember them always, not because Riki has asked for his promise, but because Katze couldn’t keep it. He took out his blaster, even as the mongrel stopped moaning in pain from the vicious beating he had received at the hands of a Blondie and started to crawl away, realizing Katze’s intent.

“No,” he moaned. “I’m sorry. I...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it!”

“I know,” Katze said quietly and fired.

 

*******************

 

Raoul watched the news footage of the explosions and fire in Harvey district and wondered who would bother blowing up the old underground bunker. To his knowledge, even mongrels avoided the area, so vandalism seemed unlikely. It was quite the show, the fire was absolutely raging, but droids would put it out eventually.

He turned away from the wall screen and stepped up to the reception area of Iason’s condo when Cal announced a visitor coming up from the lobby. He’d had no luck reconnecting Riki’s tracer and his calls to Iason went unanswered.

“Katze?” He moved forward at Katze’s devastated expression. “What is it? What has happened?”

“He’s gone,” Katze whispered as his legs gave out beneath him and Raoul followed him down to the floor. “They...they’re both gone.”

“Who? Who is gone?"

“Iason,” Katze choked out and grabbed Raoul’s tunic, pressed his face to the Blondie’s chest as a sob tore from him. “Riki and...and Iason. They’re gone. There...there was an ex... explosion…”

Raoul’s gaze glanced back at the screen he had just been watching. “Do not tell me they are at Dana Burn?” His eyes turned to slits of ice, even as his arms gently held the weeping Human. “How?” he growled. “How did this happen?”

Katze shook his head but did not move away from the embrace. They were both curled on the floor of the living area, unaware that Cal had slumped against the wall and was now silently crying.  “R...Riki’s old pairing partner. Took Riki. He...he took Riki and Iason went to get him back but...but it was a trap. Explosions...rigged or...or something. Iason was hurt, bad. Riki got out. He and Guy got out, but he...” Katze pulled back so he could meet Raoul’s eyes, so that the Blondie would understand, would know what he himself now knew and understood. That Riki had loved Iason too. “He went back. Riki went back in for Iason. He...he said...he said he couldn’t let...let him die alone. Oh God. God!”

Raoul wrapped his arms tighter around Katze as the man simply shattered. Hot wet tears tore from Katze’s eyes and ravaged the skin of his cheeks. His body shook from shock and grief as Raoul tried to comprehend what he had been told. His brother, Iason Mink, was dead. How was it possible?

Blondies were not meant to be immortal, they could die of course, but in all the centuries not one of them had. It would have to be such an extreme circumstance, such a powerful enemy or weapon to kill a Blondie, and yet Katze just told him that his dear brother had burned to death in a building with his own pet.

“Where is he?” Raoul demanded once his emotions were under control. “This pairing partner?”

“Dead. He’s dead. I...I killed him, Raoul. I had to.” He looked up again, desperate for understanding. “You know that, right? I...I had to kill him. Riki...Riki told me to take care of him but I couldn’t! Not after that. Not after he killed them both!”

“No. No you did the right thing, Katze.” If this Guy had lived Raoul would have simply killed him anyway. Slowly he rose, bringing Katze with him. “You must take me there. I must see for myself.”

Katze wiped at his face like an exhausted child, unable to believe that he had broken down as he had. When he felt a semblance of control he released a shuddering breath and nodded. “I...I called the fire droids when it....as soon as I could but it’s so far out and...”

 “It doesn’t matter. Just take me to them.”

“Not...not yet,” Katze pleaded and did something that shocked them both, he wrapped his arms around Raoul and held tight. “Just....just hang on for another minute? Please? I...I can’t go back...yet. Not yet.”

Raoul tightened his hold on the man and kissed the top of Katze’s head. Inside him rage boiled and threatened to overwhelm him, but there was something else too. Something strong and poignant and almost painful. Was this grief?

He glanced over and saw Cal standing as still as a statue, tears streaming unchecked down the boy’s impossibly pale cheeks as the Furniture maintained his position while trying to come to grips with what he had just heard. Raoul held out a hand to him, when Cal hesitated, he crooked his fingers and the boy stepped forward into his embrace so that the Blondie was now holding on to both of them. Katze’s arm snuck around Cal’s trembling shoulders as the boy continued to cry as silently as the grave.

 

***********************

Raoul picked up a heavy, still smouldering beam, heaved it out of the way so he and Katze could move forward through the building debris. It had taken hours for the fire droids to douse the flames and there was no reasonable hope that anyone survived.

Katze didn’t know how far in Iason and Riki might be, so they would continue to search through the rubble until they were found. He would not leave his brother here to rot away like some insect or carrion.

“There!” Katze suddenly cried, catching a glimpse of blond hair under what might have been a wall, and rushed forward. “Is it...is it?”

Raoul stepped up beside him, crouched, then straightened and with all the strength he could muster he started to move the wall upwards; even for a Blondie it was a difficult task. “Can you see them?” he grunted as he tried to shift the wall sideways but it would not budge.

Katze got down on his stomach and the scene below broke his heart. “Yeah,” he croaked. “Yeah, I can see them.” He rose and moved to the wall with Raoul, together they managed to push it far enough away that they could access the bodies beneath.

The floor below the pair must have collapsed, which created a type of pit. Iason’s long hair had gotten caught as they plummeted down and the wall crashed onto them at the same time, but the wall itself had not touched them.

The Blondie, only visible from the chest up had his arms wrapped around the pale mongrel, his head tilted at an odd angle as Riki lay curled in his lap, their lips touching in a final kiss.

It was then that Raoul realized why Iason’s body was at such an odd angle, he must have been shielding Riki from the debris and while Iason’s android body had kept them from being completely crushed, it was enough to push Iason into that strange position while holding Riki.

Katze had to walk away for a moment. He had to walk away because he felt the scream welling up inside of him and refused to let it out. When the hand dropped on his shoulder he flinched, then turned into Raoul and let himself weep a second time.

Raoul held Katze for a long time, wishing he too could shed tears for the loss of his brother, but instead all he felt was a profound emptiness and a raging anger.

“Jupiter cannot know,” Raoul stated quietly as Katze struggled to compose himself. “She will destroy Ceres for this, kill every mongrel.” Possibly every Human, including Katze.

“So...what do we do?”

“We have to take them off planet. I’ll think of something to tell everyone, that they ran away together or something, but they cannot stay here and be discovered.”

Katze nodded, sniffed and ran his hands over his face. “I know a guy who specializes in discrete cargo. His ship is equipped with an Anti Tracking device that gives off a false identification code.”

“That is highly illegal, Katze.”

  
“Yeah.” Katze almost managed the smile, then shook his head. “He owes me a favour and will lend me the ship, no questions asked, but I’m not good enough to fly it.”

“I will take care of that.” Raoul turned back to the devastating scene behind them. “We will need something to move them in.”

Katze nodded and was already heading back out of the debris. “I saw some old shipping containers at the edge of the property, they probably got blown out of the area. They should be big enough.”

“Good. Can you bring them here or...?”

“If the hover feature still works. I’ll be back.” He started down a pile of rubble, then paused and turned back. “Raoul?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t...um...when we move them, let’s keep them together, okay?”

Raoul nodded. He would honour his brother’s last wish to be with his beloved pet.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in the books, Iason basically tells Katze to mind his own when he learns Riki is missing, and Riki is actually gone for for days before Guy bothers to contact Iason and lure him to Dana Burn. (Burn, Bahn everyone spells it differently and I’ve fluctuated myself but the books sat burn). Katze finds Riki then drives him to Dana Burn, where Iason gets trapped, Riki helps Guy get out and then goes back with Katze’s blessing and the Black Moon Cigarettes. I NEVER liked that part, that Katze could just wave him on and say, oh, okay so I’m about to lose my master and my master’s pet, who I’ve been protecting all this time, but okay sure, adios. He even changes Guy’s face as Riki requests. Raoul is barely in the end scenes except a moment with Katze where he demands to know Iason’s whereabouts but then tells Katze to keep silent. This story does not tell it quite the same because this is a tale about Katze and Raoul being friends and so I’m gonna take some creative licence.
> 
> 1 Chapter left. :-)


	9. Chapter 9- The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life without Iason and Riki  
> \-------------------------------

 

 

Katze stared down into the amber liquid in his glass and scowled. It had been two weeks since Iason Mink and Riki had perished at Dana Burn. Raoul managed to keep their deaths a secret and, with Katze’s help had falsified the transport records to show that Iason and his pet took a shuttle off planet to parts unknown.

Jupiter had been incensed that Iason would leave without permission and had immediately sent out a squadron of Onyx to bring her favoured son home.  Katze knew that they would not find any trace of Iason, because he was not off planet. The other Blondies were making a fuss as well and he suspected that it was only a matter of time before Jupiter and everyone learned the truth. Then he would be executed, most, if not all, of the mongrels in Ceres would probably be either eliminated or tortured and Raoul…well he didn’t know what would happen to Raoul as he was a Blondie.

Yes, he thought. Only a matter of time. They couldn’t fool Jupiter and the other Blondies forever. He took another sip of his fifth, no, maybe his sixth drink, then continued to stare into the remaining liquid.

He saw someone move into his prefrail vision but remained silent.

“You the bigshot Black market dealer everyone around here talks about?” the stranger asked. “The one who works for some Blondie?”

“Walk away,” Katze responded quietly without looking up.

“Well, is you or are aint you, cause I gotta say you ain’t much to look at from where I’m standin’.” There was a chuckle or two, revealing that the stranger had friends with him. “You don’t look so big and mighty to me.”

“I won’t tell you again. Leave me alone.”

“What are you gonna do if we don’t, tough guy? You gonna go cry to your Blondie master, huh?” More laughter. “You gonna call the big bad Blondie to come and fight for you. Come on, man. Get up, let’s see what you got. Come on!”

Katze ignored the light smack to his head, but when a hand landed on his shoulder, he grabbed it, twisted it hard enough that the man dropped to his knees, then Katze smashed the man’s head into the table. The man slid off the table to the floor, as Katze rose, threw his drink into the eyes of the second as a distraction then punched him hard in the gut. He pivoted and delivered a kick to the third man’s face just as the second came at him again. Katze blocked the arm and the knife slashing down towards him, twisted the man’s right arm hard enough to break it and as the man cried out and fell forward, he dropped his left hand on the table Katze had just been sitting at and Katze drove the blade intended for him through his assailant’s hand, pinning the guy to the table.

A tackle from behind reminded Katze of the third man and they both crashed into another table as people scrambled out of the way. Katze brought his elbow up into the man’s nose as his knee connected with the guy’s crotch. He then rolled, grabbed a beer bottle that had been broken in their fall and shoved it into the man’s throat.

Katze rose as the guy lay gasping while blood gushed from his neck, stepped over the broken pieces of table back to his own seat, pulled the knife out of the second man’s hand so the sobbing fellow was released and crawled off, then he dropped back into the booth and signaled for another drink.

He ignored the rush of medi-droids who hurried to survey the scene, but aside from them everyone else returned to their own business. No, he wouldn’t be running to his master because his master was dead. Iason Mink was dead, and it was all his fault.

After finishing his drink, he left the bar, climbed into his car and gave it an address so it could drive on automatic. He knew what he had to do now, understood that the only way to get rid of these horrific feelings of grief and guilt was through pain. And there was only one person who could deliver enough pain to rid him of those feelings.

 

**************************

“Sir?”

Raoul opened his eyes and frowned at Peter at his bedroom door. Despite it being so very late at night the Furniture was still fully dressed in his uniform. “What is it?”

“Katze is in the lobby, sir and demanding to come up. I advised that you had retired for the evening but he was very insistent and I believe he may also be intoxicated.”

Raoul sat up, threw back the sheets and rose. “Send down permission and have him wait in the parlor.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Raoul quickly dressed, pulled on his gloves and stepped out of his bedroom. He had not seen Katze since that night at Dana Burn, he decided it was better for them to keep some distance and prevent adding to the rumors surrounding Iason and Riki’s sudden disappearance. Was there a problem? Had someone discovered their plot to hide his brother’s death?

He entered the parlor to find Katze pacing like a caged tiger, his hands behind his back. “Katze. What brings you here? Has something happened?”

Katze stopped pacing and stared at Raoul. “Why weren’t you there?”

“Where?”

Katze stepped closer, his whole body shook with rage as he slammed both hands into Raoul’s chest. “With Iason!” he barked, even as Raoul caught his hands and prevented another attack. “Why weren’t you there? If you had been there you could have gotten them out! Why weren’t you there?”

“As I explained before,” Raoul began, keeping a firm hold on Katze’s wrists and trying to do the same for his temper, as he could smell the alcohol wafting off the man. “Iason had indicated he wished to attend to the matter alone…”

“Why did you listen?” Katze struggled to free his hands, when that didn’t work, he lashed out with his foot and caught Raoul’s knee. “You should have been there! Everything would be different if you had stopped thinking of yourself for once and…”

The kick did not hurt Raoul, but it did anger him and he shoved Katze away from him, hard enough that Katze fell into a nearby chair.

“You dare come into my home and accuse me of such things?” the Blondie demanded, darkly. “Have you lost your senses? Have you forgotten who I am?”

“I know who you’re not!” Katze scrambled to his feet, grabbed the first thing within his grasp, which happened to be a small vase and pitched it at Raoul. “You’re not Iason Mink! You’re not him because he’s dead and it’s your fault!”

Raoul batted away the other objects that came flying towards, him with more annoyance now than anger, as Peter rushed back in. “Leave us!” he growled at the Furniture. He had been willing to forgive his behaviour to a certain extent, but the man was clearly out of control. He lunged forward and caught Katze’s arms again in a vice grip.

“You will stop this immediately!”

“Fuck you! Fuck you and your Blondie brothers! Fuck all of you because all of you together are not worth one of Iason! You’re all fucking trash!”

Raoul gave Katze a hard shake. “Stop this, now!”

 “Punish me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I crossed the line. You have to punish me!” Katze ripped open his long leather coat and pulled a whip off his belt, throwing it at the Blondie as he tore off his shirt and dropped to his knees. “Do it.”

“Katze?” Raoul looked at the whip, then tossed it away and moved to pull Katze back into a standing position. “Is that what all of this nonsense has been about…” Raoul’s eyes narrowed as Katze slapped him hard across the face. It did not hurt, of course, but the outrage at the man’s audacity burned in the Blondie’s eyes. “What do you think…?”

“Punish me.” Katze moved away picked up the whip and offered it to Raoul again. “I need you to punish me, damn it!”

“Why?”

“It’s _my_ fault! They’re dead because of me! Because I didn’t act sooner and try to find Riki. I should have put a tail on him, I should have known something would happen. I shouldn’t have listened to Iason when he told me to stay out of it and I ...”

Raoul understood hysterics when he saw it but rather than slap Katze back to his senses, he grabbed the man’s face and did something he had been thinking about for the last several weeks, he kissed him, full on the mouth.

It had the desired effect, for Katze immediately grew quiet and still, but having the result he wanted wasn’t enough for Raoul and so he forced his tongue between Katze’s firm lips and eagerly explored the moist wet heat.

It was some time before Raoul realized that Katze was pushing against him, struggling to break the kiss, and reluctantly he allowed it.

“W...What are you doing?” Katze gasped as he stumbled back and slapped a hand to his mouth.

“Punishing you,” Raoul growled as he grabbed Katze again and hauled him close. “You come into my home, disturb my sleep and speak of my dead brother, as if I needed to be reminded that he is dead. Then you assume you may have authority of choice over how I punish you?”

“R...Raoul...”

“Do you think I have not considered your part in what happened? Do you believe me incapable of understanding every aspect of it?”

Shame washed through Katze even as the Blondie gave him another hard shake to emphasize his words. “I...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry...”

“Do you believe a whipping will be enough for your indiscretion, for what you have done?”

Katze shook his head, and felt fear rise inside of him. How had he possibly thought coming to Raoul was the right thing to do? Had it been the alcohol, or his grief that possessed him to come here? Of course the Blondie hated him, they had barely spoken in the weeks since Iason and Riki perished at Dana Burn, other than to lend to the cover story that his master and pet had left Amoï.

“I just...” he began but Raoul yanked him by the arm towards the stairs. “What are you...”

“I told you already, I will punish you.” Yes, Raoul thought darkly in anticipation. This was a way to finally take what he wanted and rid himself of the thoughts and desires that had bothered him these last months.

Katze didn’t have the breath or the will to answer as he was hauled into Raoul’s room and tossed on the lake-sized bed.

“Take off your clothes.”

“What?” Shock and fear sobered Katze instantly as he tried to scramble off the bed only to be shoved back onto it. “What is wrong with you? You can’t...”  


Raoul again shoved him back onto the mattress, then pinned him there with his hands and loomed over him. “I can and I will. I am a Blondie of Tanagura, I may take whatever I desire, and what I desire most is you.”

“Why?” Katze shook his head, this couldn’t be happening! “You can’t!”

“You dare tell me what I may or may not do? You dare refuse my orders after your horrendous behaviour this night?”

“Raoul, listen to me, you...”

Raoul suddenly stood up, as if only becoming aware of his own actions and finding them repulsive. What was wrong with him? How could he behave in such a manner and why, why was he so _angry_? Was this grief? Was it guilt? Was it desire or frustration? How did Humans manage to deal with such similar, such confusing sensations?

“Why did you come here? I am neither your master nor your father confessor!”

“You’re my friend!” Katze exclaimed bitterly as he sat up but did not bother to attempt to get off the bed again. “I...at least I thought...” He lowered his eyes, fisted his hands against the sheets beneath him in frustration. “I...I didn’t know where else to go,” he whispered brokenly, fully prepared to take whatever punishment Raoul deemed to deliver. “You’re...you’re all I have left now.”

And just like that, Raoul’s anger dissipated and a flurry of new emotions seeped into his consciousness. Had he been alone he would have entered the feelings into his evolution journal to study and reflect upon later, but now was not the time for such things.

He did not blame Katze for what happened, not truly. Oh, there had been a few moments right after the incident that he wanted someone to blame, but Katze had done what Iason had instructed him to do, which was just as he should have done, and could not be blamed for his master’s decisions.

Still, it had annoyed him to have Katze show up here, obviously drunk, riddled with grief and self incrimination and looking mouth-wateringly vulnerable. He had tried to stay away from the man because even the shocking death of his own brother could not stamp out his growing desire for Iason’s former Furniture.

It was desire, more than anything else, that led him to lash out at the devastated man and while logically he knew he should tell Peter to put Katze to bed and sleep it off, his lust demanded justice. He too felt grief, in his own way, and also wished for some other emotion to replace the feeling.

“I was always alone before, but I never felt alone because...because I still had Iason. Now...now I’m truly alone and I...and free.” Katze swallowed because that had been the hardest change for him, knowing he was he no longer had a master and was therefore a free man to so as he would. “I’m frightened, Raoul. I don’t know what to do, who...who am I now? What can I be? What can I do?”

“What you have always done, Katze.” Raoul dropped down tiredly on the bed, facing away from the Human that sat upon it. “Live. Survive and take care of business.”

“I don’t want to. I can’t focus, I can’t sleep. I keep second guessing myself and...”

Raoul turned and gave Katze a hard glare. “What would you ask of me? Why did you come here? You brazenly attack and accuse me in order to get me to punish you but you do not accept the punishment I choose. You confess to sins that are not your own and expect me to absolve you. What would you have me do?”

Katze had never heard frustration in a Blondie’s voice before and it both alarmed and fascinated him. He slowly started to slide across the bed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have come here. I’ll leave.”

“No.” Raoul’s hand shot out and caught Katze’s arm just as the man’s feet touched the floor. “I demand compensation. You have disturbed my sleep and brought up matters that I wished to stay buried. Do you honestly believe I will let you walk away now?”

Katze forced himself to meet the Blondie’s gaze. “What would you have me do?” he returned, turning Raoul’s words back at him.

“I would have you remove your clothing and crawl upon my bed so I may have my way with you.”

Katze swallowed, hard. “Why would you want that? I can’t feel desire or pleasure. I’m not a pet, or even a proper man anymore.”

“It is not for you to question me. I have told you what I want of you and now you have a choice. Leave now, and do not darken my door again, or remain and be prepared for the consequences.”

Katze considered. He never expected to hear such things from Raoul. He had no idea if Raoul meant to just stare at him, fondle him or actually have sex with him, but he did not want to lose Raoul’s friendship. He couldn’t lose it, not now.

“So, if I leave, I can never come back? Never see you again?”

“It is better that way, then to compromise you further.”

Katze sat down on the bed, then slowly pulled his legs up. “I…I won’t go, Raoul. I can’t.”

“Understand what it will mean if you stay. I will not be gentle with you.”

“I understand.”

“Remove your clothing.” Katze did so, hesitating only briefly over his slacks. Raoul had seen him naked before, when the Blondie had tended to his stab wound.

“Lay back on the bed.”

Katze complied and tried to shrug off the feeling of awkwardness. He could not masturbate for Raoul, as a pet would, he no longer had the right equipment, so he lay there and let Raoul look his fill.

After several, intense minutes, Raoul began to undress, then he slipped beneath the sheets. Held them back for Katze to do the same. However, the Blondie only pulled Katze into his arms, and did not attempt to touch him in appropriately. Such a strange feeling to hold someone in his arms in such a way, to have the unfamiliar touch of naked skin against his own body. It was arousing, yes but something else to. Was this comfort?

“I too miss them,” he said quietly as he stroked Katze’s hair. “I too blame myself. It changes nothing. They are still dead, Katze, and no amount of grief or guilt will bring them back.”

“I feel so lost, Raoul. I keep playing it back over and over in my mind of what I should have done and…”

 “It is not your fault.” Raoul felt the man stiffen against him, but continued to speak. “I do not blame you, Katze. Do you truly blame me?”

Katze lifted his head from the firm, pale chest it had been resting against to meet Raoul’s probing gaze. He had never been held in someone’s arms before. He’d been hugged a few times, very briefly, but he had never actually been held. The expected awkwardness at the incredibly inappropriate action of being held, naked, against a Blondie did not appear. He felt neither unease or shame, not really. He felt only pain, sorrow and a mild sense of relief to have finally confessed to those feelings.

 “No,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I said those things. I didn’t mean them. I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.”

“You are grieving, it is natural, as I understand it, for your kind to lash out at the one closest to you in such times.” Raoul enjoyed the fact that he was now considered for that role.

Katze lifted a hand to touch Raoul’s cheek, saw the flicker of surprise in the elite’s gaze. “I’m sorry.” His eyes widened slightly when Raoul’s bare hand covered his, the Blondie had removed his gloves along with his clothing. “I miss him so much.”

Raoul caught the single tear that slid down the pale cheek with a touch of his lips and he wondered if Katze realized that he had been in love with Iason? He wondered if Iason had been aware of his former Furniture’s feelings? Probably not.

 “As do I. Many times. I have found myself calling Iason’s com before I recall that he cannot answer, or driving to his condo before I remember that he is no longer there.”

So, Raoul was going through a similar process to him, Katze thought. “I wanted something to replace what I was feeling, the agony of it, the helplessness. I thought physical pain was better than the pain I was feeling. I thought it might help me purge it or forget it.”

“Do you truly believe replacing one pain with another would counteract your misery?”

“Maybe, probably not. No.”

“No,” Raoul agreed

Katze didn’t know if it was the exhaustion, the alcohol or the misery that kept him in Raoul’s arms, instead of doing the right thing and climbing out of the bed and putting some proper distance between them. Whatever it was relaxing, soothing and his eyes started to droop. It had been several days since he’d slept.

“What do we do now?”

“What we have always done. We live.”

“Yeah. We live.”

“It will be alright, Katze.” Raoul dropped a chaste kiss atop Katze’s head. “I will be here to help you and you will be alright.”

“Thank you…Raoul.”

Katze’s breathing had evened out and Raoul knew the moment that man drifted off to sleep. For himself, however, sleep did not come quickly or easily. His feelings for Katze were unlike any he had ever had for another and he still was not quite sure what to do about them.

 

*********************************

 

**TWO YEARS LATER**

 

Katze signed the last of the paperwork that Sheila had besieged him with then stretched his arms over his head to work out the kinks in his neck. It had been a long, but prosperous week, but finally it was at an end. He never worried about the end of the week before, he used to just work through it, but now he had something to look forward to. Now he had other work to entertain him outside of the black-market district.

“Shie...” He paused as she appeared in the doorway with his jacket, and smiled. “Are you due for a raise?”

She smirked as he rose, let her slide it on him. “You don’t pay me.” As a slave she did not make a wage, but was provided adequate housing, food and shelter to live on.

“I don’t?” He scratched his scar free cheek, missing the familiar feeling of the rough skin that had once been there.

Technically she was no longer a slave, her master was gone, and she was now just Katze’s employee. Raoul had forged some documents citing Iason’s resignation from the Syndicate and stating that Katze should manage Iason’s investments in the black market and role it back into the business.

For Iason’s other assets, Raoul would occasionally arrange a chunk of credits to be removed from Iason’s accounts, giving the appearance that the Blondie and his pet were still alive and well and simply traveling the universe.

Jupiter had been very angry that Iason had left Amoï, especially without permission, but as usual she forgave her favoured son his transgressions; it only took a year or so. Katze suspected that things would have been much worse, as Raoul warned, if Jupiter had learned that Iason had died, especially at the hands of a mongrel.

“How much would you like to be earning?” he asked Sheila, returning to their conversation. When she blinked at him, confused, he picked up the document he had just finished signing, handed it to her. “This came in yesterday, thought you’d be interested.”

Shiela looked at the letter, it was not one she had prepared, and her eyes widened as she read it through then saw Iason Mink’s signature at the bottom, just above Katze’s. “F...free?” she gasped. “Lord Mink is setting me free?”

“Is that what it says?” Katze pretended to be shocked, snatched the paper back and looked it over. He had to admit; he could do Iason’s signature damn well perfectly now. “Huh. I guess that’s what it is then. What? You don’t _want_ to be free?”

“I...I...” She reached behind her for purchase and Katze rose, quickly spun her around and sat her in his chair. “I have never considered. I am always...have always been...?” She wished she had the Human ability to cry, to shed tears and release some of the turmoil, the happiness she was feeling.

“You are free, Shiela, this proves it.” Katze crouched before her, took her hands in his. “If you want, you can walk out of here today and never look back. Or...”

“Or?”

“Or, you can continue to work for me as a regular employee, earning a wage, buying your own things and living...” He felt her hands tremble. “Living in your own space and without any locks on the doors.”

“C...can I really? Can I do that, Katze?”

“If that’s what you want? Or, you can take a sum of money with you now and go wherever...”

“I’ll stay!” She threw her arms around him, squeezed. “Please! Please, may I stay and...and be free?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you can stay and be free.” He pulled back, smiled at her. “You can start looking for a place to live tomorrow if you want. I’ve already put some money into an account for you.” He pulled the credit stick out of his pocket, placed it in the palm of her hand and closed her fingers around it. “Just tell them to contact me for a reference, and this...” He pulled out a small, thin instrument, pressed the end and waved it over her wrist. Instantly a flash of numbers appeared, then disappeared again, as they would only show under a UV light. “Is your new registration  number so you can use that to buy whatever you like and to get into the stores and restaurants.”

“I don’t know what to say. I...I am overwhelmed!”

“Well, sit here, take it in.” He rose, patted her head. “You’ve got three days to run wild then it’s back to work. You can stay in your current place until you find one you like, I’ve removed the locks.

“Katze,” she said as he shrugged into his jacket and moved towards the door. He turned. “Thank you. Thank you, thank you.”

He smiled, nodded, then stepped out.

Raoul scowled as Katze entered his condo thirty minutes later. “You’re late.”

“Nag, nag, nag.” Katze allowed Peter to remove his jacket as Cal entered with a mug of coffee. “Not everything is about you, you know?”

“Of course it is. Why else would I exist?” Raoul smiled at Cal, who was the only other person who knew the truth about his brother.

He’d officially purchased the young boy from Iason after his brother suddenly left the planet. It was unusual to have two Furniture’s in a household, but Cal and Peter got on very well and it seemed to be working out since Peter had always been more interested in science than in the household and so had become a very adept lab assistant, leaving Cal to tend the house.

“To drive me crazy?” Katze took a sip of his coffee as they headed for the entrance to Raoul’s lab. “To annoy your brothers? To discover every possible oddity in the known universe and bring it here to Amoï to breed?”

“All valid reasons as well.” Raoul uncoded the entrance to his lab, stepped aside for Katze to precede him. “Did you give Sheila her walking papers?”

“I did, but she’d decided to stay.”

“You knew she would.”

“I suspected, hoped she would, but she could have easily walked away. Getting your freedom after an entire existence as a slave is quite an event and certainly life changing.”

Raoul paused, turned to him. “Do you ever wish for it? Your freedom?”

“I have more than enough.” Technically he was a free man, since his Master was deceased, but he didn’t like to think about that. He flinched, only slightly when the huge spider he had been so terrified of before slammed against its casing as they passed. “Oh, fuck off,” he snarled at it. “You’re lucky you’re too expensive to squash.”

Raoul tossed an arm over Katze’s shoulders, turned him away from the arachnid. “Its mate has been laying eggs all day.”

“Yeah?” Katze brightened as they entered the main area of the lab, sipped his coffee. “How long till they hatch?”

“About a month, then another two before they can spin any webbing.”

“Well, we have more than enough to process for now anyway.” Katze, having mostly rid himself of his fear of spiders, walked over to the far wall which was completely covered in a pattern of thin, silver webbing. He knew where the force shield began so didn’t go further. “How many has she got in there?”

“The sensors count sixteen so far, but I believe there will be more.”

“Yeah. Keep on spinning and spitting out babies you ugly bitch, more money for us.”

Raoul laughed as he slid on to the stool by his computer and started entering numbers. “As she is in the process of doing so, we won’t be able to do any collections today.”

“Then why am I here?”

“To keep me company.” Raoul turned, held out a hand and Katze stepped up to him so that he was standing between the Blondie’s legs. He took Katze’s coffee, sipped, then handed it back. “Are you tired of mine already?”

“Well,” Katze began, and lifted his eyebrows as a gloved hand swept over his ass, squeezed. “You are _intolerably_ boring.” He grinned from the hard pinch on his ass. “But, you’ve grown on me.”

“I’m happy to show you something else that has grown, if you’re interested?”

“Perv.” Katze set his cup on the table, leaned forward and pressed himself closer to Raoul, but only so he could read the details on the Blondie’s monitor. “What’s this now? A new experiment?”

“No, an old one.” Raoul slid a hand up Katze’s back companionably as he turned back to the console. “I have finally solved the mystery of our Chupacabra.”

“No kidding?” Katze read through the data. “Huh, so it doesn’t actually exist on blood like a vampire, then?”

“No. While it does drain the animals of their blood, it will often then consume it. However, it may also drain the animal and not eat it, merely because it is full.”

“So, what is the purpose of draining the blood if it doesn’t use it for nourishment?”

“Ah, that was the mystery, wasn’t it?” Raoul tapped a few keys on his console and a video came up of the Chupacabra in the quarry that had become its hunting ground, at least for Raoul’s experiments.

 “What’s it doing?”

“Secreting the blood back onto the ground and the surrounding area of it’s nest.”

“But why?”

“Watch.” Raoul’s hand caressed Katze’s hip as the man continued to view the video.

They had become closer after losing Iason and Riki, and he was grateful for it. As his partner in the webbing business, and as his friend, Raoul was experiencing the benefits of a real give and take relationship for the first time. Katze did not kowtow to him as others did, and he was always honest and genuine in his opinions and his feelings.

Then, there was also the newness of their _other_ relationship, which only started a few months ago. Katze had become critically injured during one of his black-market deals and the Human doctors had no hope for him. He was only Furniture after all, and Human, and they did not see the point of wasting expensive medical resources on such a person. Raoul took matters into his own hands and broke one of Jupiter’s main Taboos by allowing a Human to use an Elite’s healing chamber.

He’d had no idea what the process might do to Katze, but as the man would die without it, it was an acceptable risk to try. Luckily, the chamber not only healed Katze’s injuries, but restored his body to full capacity to the point that the procedure he had undergone to become Furniture as a child had been reversed. For the first time in his memory, Katze had functioning reproductive organs and a sex drive, and Raoul took full advantage of it.

When the physicians learned of Raoul’s deception, they immediately complained to the other Blondies who complained to Jupiter. However, Jupiter declined to take action. Perhaps She understood that Katze had been a great benefit and comfort to Iason, or perhaps She forgave Raoul’s actions because She missed Iason, and did not wish to lose the company of Her second Favorite son.  Katze’s Furniture status was revoked and Jupiter decreed that the exception would be allowed. He was now listed as a businessman and vendor.

“Oh, the area where it sprayed the blood is fading!” Katze said, leaning even closer to the screen. “No, not fading, but…”

“Merging with it’s surrounding area. Whatever the chemistry makeup of this beast, when it takes in the blood of an animal, the compounds of the blood are changed. It becomes a natural camouflage.”

“Hey! That could be worth a lot to the right buyer!”

Raoul smiled, how he loved Katze’s mercenary heart. “Exactly. Unfortunately, none of the samples I have taken from the animal had revealed the key to the transformation, therefore…”

Katze looked down at Raoul. “You’ll have to dissect it.”

“Yes.”

“I won’t be able to find you another one Raoul.”

“I am aware of the trouble you went to in procuring this one, so I do not expect a repeat performance.”

“Are you really going to kill it? You’ve had over two years now.”

“It is hardly a pet, Katze. It has only ever been a specimen to be examined.”

“I know, but it seems a shame. It’s really unique.”

“Are you asking me not to continue the experiment?”

“No, I’m just saying it would be a shame to kill it, that’s all.”

“Hmmm.” Raoul switched off his console, rose and slid his arms around Katze. “What are you offering for its life?”

“Hey, I’m just a black market-dealer, I don’t have anything worth offering.”

“You do. You know that you do.”

Katze grinned. “What I know, is that ever since I got _my_ works back, _you’ve_ been a sex maniac.”

“An unfounded accusation like that deserves a spanking.”

“No spankings, I am not a child.” Katze lifted his chin, then slid his hands up under Raoul’s tunic. “But, if you play nice, maybe I’ll let your tool play in my shed.”

Raoul’s desire flared into overdrive as he suddenly spun Katze around and pushed him across one of the scanner beds.

“Hey! I never said you could do it now!”

“It was implied,” Raoul returned as he pulled Katze’s slacks down with a quick motion then freed himself. “It may hurt, for that I am sorry.”

“You’re always sorry you…” Katze gasped as he was breached from behind and he gripped the edges of the bed. “Fuck! You…you could have waited a minute!”

“No, I could not.” Raoul reached around and started to stroke Katze’s semi hard penis in time with his thrusts. Soon the man was gasping and pushing back as hard as Raoul was pushing forward. “You enjoy it when I am rough.”

“Don’t…” Katze tried to deny then almost bit through his lip as Raoul hit his prostate. “F…F….faster!” It had taken him several weeks to get used to being a fully-functioning man again, and part of the problem had been the intense desire he had felt for Raoul almost from the first day he had come out of the healing chamber.

Raoul complied and revelled in Katze’s very Human, very vocal response. “You feel good, Katze. I feel good when I am inside of you.”

“L…Less talking, m…more f….fuck…YES!” Katze reached down and covered Raoul’s hand with his own so they were both jerking him off. “God! God! Yes, there! Raoul!”

He came with such force his eyes lost focus and he thought he might lose consciousness, but Raoul was still pounding into him, basically holding him upright with a massive Blondie’s dick. When Raoul finally found release, Katze could barely move, and standing on his legs would have been impossible, so he was both embarrassed and grateful when Raoul gently picked him up and laid him properly on the bed, then moved off to retrieve a wet cloth.

Katze could only lay there like a puddle of warm goo as the Blondie efficiently wiped him off, then an instrument from the scanner bed popped up and ran a sanitizing scan over both he, Raoul and the bed itself.

“I thought we’d go to dinner early.” Raoul decided as he finished dressing, then helped Katze sit up and slide back into his own clothes. A slow smile slid across his face as he realized the man still had his boots on.

“Yeah, okay.”

Raoul quirked an eyebrow. “You seem distracted? Are you well?”

“You just screwed me senseless, Raoul. I need a minute.”

“Ah, as you say.” Raoul straightened Katze’s shirt collar, even though the shirt had never come off, then held Katze steady as the man slid off the table. “Are you sure that is all it is?”

I’m okay, just...” Katze lifted his eyes to Raoul’s. “It’s been two years.”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“No.”

Raoul waited a moment, watching Katze’s expression.

He enjoyed the fact that they could discuss any topic, and he knew he could call Katze to go for dinner or a show whenever he wanted to get away from work or his environment. He was the only one that Raoul could argue with one minute and laugh with the next and not feel annoyed or disrespected. As much as he missed Iason, and as much as he was enjoying their physical relationship, he was grateful for the friendship that had come from his brother’s death.

“Do you believe in an afterlife, Raoul?”

“No. I do not see how one could be possible. Do you?”

Katze shrugged. “I never did before but lately...  I see Iason and Riki in my dreams.”

“Are you having nightmares?”

“No. Nothing like that. The dreams are...well, I guess it’s more like conversations. They seem...happy, you know? They’re smiling and laughing and telling me how good things are. Showing me things that...I don’t know...Prove they’re okay, I guess. It doesn’t make sense. It’s just a dream, right?”

“It can be anything you want it to be, Katze. I envy you. A Blondie cannot dream, and I would dearly love to see my brother again.”

Katze nodded in understanding as they headed for the exit. “It kind of settles me, you know? I wake up missing them like crazy, but it’s better somehow than it was before. I like to think that if there is an afterlife, it’s their way of saying they’re enjoying it, being together without all the limitations and trouble they had here.”

“That sounds lovely.” Raoul rose, touched Katze’s shoulder. “When you dream of them again, will you give them my best?”

Katze grinned. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll tell them.” They stepped through the portal and entered Raoul’s living area. “So, if we are gonna eat let’s do it now, I’m starved.”

“Agreed. How about that place where you eat with your hands?”

“Oh, you mean where we went on our first date?” Katze teased.

“Exactly so.” They moved back towards the door as Cal appeared with their jackets. “Katze? What sort of place are they living in, in your dreams?”

“Completely opposite of here, oddly enough. Green. Lush and green with trees that look like they have actual fruit on them and huge supplies of water, big enough to swim in. And there’s a castle, like in the old Earth storybooks, and all sorts of animals, wild and domesticated...” He looked up and found Raoul staring at him intently. “Just a dream, right?”

“Yes.” Raoul replied but didn’t quite believe it. Something of Katze’s description seemed familiar to him, hauntingly so. “Well, it sounds like a nice place.”

“Hmmm, but then I suppose paradise, or heaven or whatever it’s called is supposed to be nice.”

“Indeed. It would certainly be a true Avalon compared to Amoï.”

“It would.” Katze smirked as they took the elevator down. “If they are in a fairy tale land, I suppose that Iason would be the king and Riki the Prince?”

“Hmmm, perhaps, although I cannot imagine him as anything more than a mongrel.”

“Well, no but, still, it would be interesting if it were real, you know? If they had a happily ever after, like in the story books.”

“Now, Katze.” Raoul dropped a hand on Katze’s arm as they started up to the main area of the condo. “You know as well as I, fairytales are for children.”

“Oh, I dunno.” Katze shrugged, leaned up to give Raoul a quick kiss before the elevator doors opened and they stepped out. “I got my Prince true enough.”

Raoul smiled. “And I mine.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that is it, boys and girls. I know some people prefer Katze to stay a eunic while in a relationship with Raoul, but despite what I wrote in my other stories, I think it would be damned uncomfortable for someone who truly cannot feel desire to be subjected to such a thing. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, you know what to do if you did! Cheers!
> 
> Ani


End file.
